


Space Princess

by Arvari



Series: Space Princess (and His Knight in Shining Armor) [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Deaf Clint Barton, F/M, Loki Does What He Wants, Loki Needs a Hug, Loki Redemption, M/M, Slow Build, Tony Being Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-03-21 15:18:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 62
Words: 98,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3697151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arvari/pseuds/Arvari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It has been a few weeks since they defeated Thanos. And Loki, the one who helped them during the battle, is back on Earth and he is the one asking for help now. Well, he just needs a place to stay, really. But of course, not everyone is happy about the fact that the Space Princess will be a permanent guest in the tower. To be more precise, Tony isn't happy. And Loki isn't very happy about his new nickname.</p><p>And Clint Barton is just having fun, really.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

They all stared at two tall gods, one blonde and one black-haired, standing in front of them.

“That's... Your brother,” Tony said.

“Yes?” Thor answered.

“Your brother Loki.”

“Yes.”

“You know, the one...”

“Father agreed that it would be best for Loki to live on Midgard with us. You don't need to worry, he is unable to cast some of his most harmful spells-”

“Well, to be fair, he saved my ass with one of those spells,” said Clint. “Right, it cost me my hearing, but that's fine as long as I am still breathing...”

All the eyes in the room were suddenly on him.

“What?” he raised his eyebrows and pointed to Natasha. “I have my helpful translator, you know.”

“I have asked you a million times to stop calling me a translator, Clint,” Natasha murmured.

“I guess that was something about not calling you a translator,” he smirked. “That's just mean, sweetheart. You know I can't hear you. Gosh, I need subtitles or something.”

“ _Subtitles_!” Tony whispered. “Bloody _subtitles_! Subtitles, of _course_!”

Then he jumped from his seat and before anyone had a chance to react, the doors of the elevator were closing behind him.

-I think he has an idea,- Natasha signed.

-I hope so. This is getting ridiculous,- Clint answered.

“Thor, please,” Steve sighed. “Once again. Your father wants Loki to... Join the team, or what?”

Loki shrugged. His arms were crossed and one didn't need to be a genius to know that the god was feeling uncomfortable.

“Only if you will allow it,” he murmured. “But then, of course, I am not very excited to join your superhero band, so could we just... pretend that you don't want me?”

“Loki, you know that you have to live with us to-”

“Yes, but I don't have to fight with you, too, do I?”

“You... don't. But-”

“Thor, _please_. I know that after the battle with Thanos you think I am a hero, but let's make it absolutely clear, I am _not_. I do not wish to be an Avenger.”

“I understand, Loki, but maybe if you tried-”

“Thor, seriously, don't,” Steve sighed. “I'm not ready to have another god in the team, especially not a completely crazy one. I... I am glad that your father realizes we wouldn't be able to defeat Thanos if it weren't for your brother, I am glad that he didn't sentence Loki to death-”

“Oh, I would wish to be sentenced to death if Odin wanted to _punish_ me.”

“I am not ready for this. _We_ are not ready. Sorry.”

“But... Friends. That means that Loki must return to Asgard. And I don't want him to spend the rest of his life in a dungeon!”

“Relax, Thor, Steve didn't say that I couldn't live here. Or did you?”

“That's not up to me to decide. This is still Tony's house.”

“And, as you maybe noticed, our genius has left the room,” Clint smirked.

Bruce, who had been quiet since Thor and Loki arrived, just sighed.

“Tell Tony to come back, Jarvis,” he said. “His wonderful idea can wait for a few minutes.”

 

“And _that_ is why I had to leave my workshop?!” Tony blinked.

“Well, we didn't want to agree with it behind your back,” said Steve.

“But you are all okay with it?” asked Tony. “No objections?”

“None that I know of?” Steve shrugged.

“And you still feel the need to ask me? Cute. Really, Cap, I've got work to do. Just show the Space Princess his room. Or flat. Whatever, I don't care.”

“Man of Iron-”

“Work to do, Sparkle! Jarvis, the elevator, please.”

“Yeah. That probably means 'welcome to the Avengers Tower',” Natasha said. “Will you live with Thor?”

“Did he... Did he seriously call me _Space Princess_?” Loki asked.

Clint winked at Natasha.

-This is gonna be so much fun,- he signed.

-I can't wait,- she answered.

 

The next day, Tony Stark stepped into the common living room and stopped dead in his tracks. He blinked. Then he blinked again. He closed his eyes for a few moments, but when he opened them, the person was still there. Talking to Natasha.

“What the hell is he doing here?”

“Seriously, Tony, were you drunk yesterday?” Natasha smirked. “He lives here.”

“Since when?”

“Since yesterday?”

“Did I allow it?” Tony frowned. “No, wait. You dragged me out of my workshop just when I had started a new project! That was completely unfair!”

“Oh, come on, Tony. He's kind of nice.”

“Kind of?” Loki smirked. “You are hurting my feelings, Natasha.”

“You have no feelings, Loki.”

“That may be true, yes, but-”

“You know,” Tony sighed. “I think I might actually _want_ to get drunk right now.”

 

He was just peacefully staring out of the window when he heard the voice.

“That's your third glass, Stark.”

“I said I wanted to get drunk.”

The glass vanished from his hand and Tony turned around. How did Loki even get into Tony's own apartment? Wasn't Jarvis supposed to let him know when people wanted to come here?

“I know, that was your drink,” Loki smirked. “But I want to talk with you and I want you as sober as possible.”

“Fine. Spit it out. Quickly, please.”

“During the battle with Thanos, I caused the malfunction of your suit.”

“I know that.”

“I know that you know. And I know that you are angry. But if hadn't done it, you would be dead now. You would fly right into his trap. You have every right to be angry, but I saved your life.”

“Yeah. So?”

“Nothing,” Loki sighed and shook his head. “If you don't want me here, just say it. You will make Odin's day. He is probably polishing the barrier of my prison cell right now, so it is nice and shiny when he throws me there.”

“No. No, that's... That's okay, Space Princess. I get it. I'm just pissed off that Steve asked me when he knew I would agree with anything just to get back to the workshop. And it's just funny that everyone seems to forget you tried to rule the world once, that you ruled Asgard for a while, yeah, yeah, I know, a _plan_ , I get it. But yeah, of course, Natasha is glad you saved Clint's life, Steve just likes to be friends with everyone, Thor is your brother... I won't forget that easily, Princess.”

“I don't want you to.”

“Fine. I promise to pretend I like you when the others are around. But I don't exactly _like_ you. Not yet.”

“I understand,” Loki nodded.

“And if you throw me out of the window again, I'll kick your ass.”

“Just don't mention the performance issues.”

“Why? Is that a sensitive topic for you? You know people usually become most angry about the things which are-”

 

Clint turned his head to the window just when Tony Stark was falling past it. The next second, his suit followed him.

“I don't know why, but I think he deserved it,” the archer muttered and focused on his tablet again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki is angry. Tony is even angrier. Steve has a headache. And Bruce tries to do some damage control.

“He threw me out of the window!” Tony yelled.

“Yes, you've said that already,” Steve sighed and put his hands firmly on Tony's shoulders to stop the billionaire, who was probably about to step forward and attempt to murder the god.

“He insulted me!” Loki growled and shot Thor a look which clearly said 'touch me like that and you will be the next one to enjoy a little flying'.

“Yes, _you_ have said _that_ , too,” Steve nodded.

“He wanted to _kill_ me!” Tony specified.

“He insulted my masculinity!”

“He did _what_?!” asked Thor and Tony swore he could hear the sound of thunder in the distance.

“What? No. No, Thor, not like that. Not with the... A-word,” Loki rolled his eyes. “He merely implied that I was having... some problems with getting some parts of my anatomy to work properly.”

“In other words, I implied he couldn't get it up,” Tony clarified.

“Wow. That's low, Tony, even for you,” said Steve.

“What? It was a _joke_ , Cap! You're not supposed to try to kill someone because of a friggin' joke!”

“You know, sometimes even _I_ want to throw you out of the window. And this time, Loki had at least opened it before he did it.”

“So I should feel grateful or what? Damn, are your eyes still the same shade of blue?”

“Yes, they are,” Loki murmured. “You Midgardians managed to destroy my 'glow-stick of destiny', remember?”

“No one was asking you, Space Princess.”

“And don't call me Space Princess, Stark, or this time, I will actually _stop_ your suit from reaching you in time!”

“No, you won't,” Steve muttered and pressed his fingers to his temples. He felt a terrible headache coming up. “Okay, guys. I'm the boss here. _Shut up_ , Tony. I am.”

“Yes, boss,” Tony snorted.

“So here's the deal,” said Steve. “Could you two please, _please_ try not to kill each other? Loki, stop defending yourself with violence. Tony, stop with the jokes.”

“I'm Tony Stark. I-”

“ _Please_ , Tony.”

“Yes, _boss_.”

“Loki?”

“If he doesn't insult me, I have no reason to murder him,” Loki shrugged.

“Okay. Great. That's what I wanted to hear.”

“Your expectations aren't very high, are they?”

“Tony,” Steve sighed.

“I'm sorry, boss. Can I please go now, boss? I need to work on that new project for Clint, you know. Boss.”

“You were getting drunk when I came to your-”

“Shut up, Space Princess.”

“No. _No_ ,” said Thor quickly when a dagger appeared in Loki's hand. “Calm down, brother. I am sure the Man of Iron didn't mean it.”

“Well, _I do_ ,” Loki growled.

“Oh, God, what did I do to deserve this?” Steve murmured.

“I don't know. You probably don't even masturbate.”

“ _Tony_!”

“I know. I'm already leaving. See? No Tony Stark here. Bye, Cap. Bye, ThunderCat. Bye, Space Princess.”

The dagger flew in the general direction of the leaving genius and, of course, missed. Tony knew better than to comment on that. Loki might actually try to hit him the next time...

 

The doors of Tony's workshop swung open and closed again. The billionaire took a deep breath and counted to-

“Five fucking _minutes_!” he yelled.

He didn't even get to three, really.

“I'm sorry, is this a wrong time?” Bruce asked and raised his eyebrow. “By the way, if you ever need some anger management tips, please, do let me know.”

“Oh, sorry, Brucie. I thought it was... someone else,” said Tony.

“You mean someone much taller, with darker, longer hair... And kind of from another planet?”

“Yeah, someone like that. Or someone also taller, more muscular and... well, blonde. And also from another planet. Well, probably.”

“You mean Steve,” Bruce smirked. “That's not nice, Tony.”

“Isn't it? Well, never mind that. Jarvis told you, didn't he?”

“He even showed me the footage.”

“Nice, J.,” Tony growled. “Okay. So you know that _Loki_ is the one who has a problem with anger management.”

“To be honest, I think you both do. _And_ you deserved that little trip of yours.”

“Are you on his side, too? Oh, of course you are,” Tony sighed. “Everyone is. Hello, I'm Tony, remember? I've been an Avenger for... Wait, how long since we started?”

“I'm on your side, Tony. I'm only saying that you can't expect him to be nice to you when you do and say just the things you know he doesn't like. Next time, you will probably ask him how's his dad doing. It's like if you... if you taunted the Other Guy and expected him _not_ to smash you.”

“Brucie...”

“It is. Don't even try to deny it.”

“Well, yeah, but...” The billionaire just shook his head. “It doesn't matter.”

“But _what_ , Tony? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to get his attention.”

“I'm not. I'm just... cautious.”

“Excuse me?” Bruce blinked. “Are you serious?”

“Hey. Don't go all... green on me,” said Tony and licked his lips. “I don't exactly trust him, okay? He's fooled Thor more times than our little Sparkle can count, probably. How can we know he's not trying to fool _us_? That he didn't _make us_ help him to get rid of... just another villain, his enemy, so he could try and take over the world _himself_?”

“We can't,” Bruce shrugged. “Tony, I get you, okay? I'm not absolutely convinced he's changed, either. But if he isn't, so what? We just beat him again.”

“If he lives here, he'll know all our secrets.”

“First, not _all_ our secrets. Let's be honest, we keep secrets even from each other,” said Bruce. “And second, it doesn't matter. Because _smash_ isn't exactly a secret.”

“What if we can't defeat him by smashing him this time?”

“Seriously, Tony?” Bruce sighed. “Stop thinking like that. This... isn't _you_. You're usually the one voting for second chances. I don't get-”

“Yeah. I know. I don't get it myself.”

Tony almost flinched when Bruce put his arm around the billionaire's shoulders.

“Tony... I'm not _that_ kind of a doctor, and I'm definitely going to regret reminding you, but... If you want to talk, you can come to me, you know that, right?”

“Of course I do.”

“Good. And if you want to do some science to take your mind off what's bothering you-”

“Yeah, now you mention it, I could use your help with this new project for Clint!” said Tony and a broad smile appeared on his face. “Jarvis, be a darling and show me the blueprints.”

“Oh. Right. I didn't mean _right now_ , but...”

 

Several floors above them, Loki was staring at his new phone. Very light. Very thin. Definitely very expensive.

“And Stark knows you gave this to me?” he asked Natasha.

“Well, not exactly,” she answered. “But we have at least ten more of them in the storage and the general idea is that when your phone is destroyed or damaged, you just take a new one. You don't have a phone, do you?”

“I don't even know why I would need one,” Loki frowned and turned the device on. “I mean, they can be useful, but I don't have anyone I could contact outside of this tower, so... What?”

“You know how to use it,” Natasha blinked.

“Of course I do. Who do you think I am?”

“Well, an alien from a society that doesn't even use a toaster?” said Natasha. “Sorry.”

“I have been in this realm before. I had a phone. I used a phone. I am not Thor.”

“And thank God for that,” Natasha smirked. “I wasn't looking forward to explaining you all this.”

“You don't need to, dear,” Loki smiled.

“Right. So... Maybe I could tell Clint to show you some games? You know, to pass the time?He's been sort of a maniac lately, but of course, you need to tell him to turn off the sound, because he doesn't realize it's so damn loud...”

“Games?” asked Loki. “What... _games_?”

“Never heard of games? Good. There's still some of an alien left in you. Don't worry. We'll take care of that.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gives Clint a gift. Then he goes and works. And then works some more. In the meantime, Loki becomes a little addicted to his new phone...

“Knock knock?”

Natasha rolled her eyes.

“Just come in, Tony.”

“Hey. That's not fair. You ruined my joke!”

“None of your 'knock knock' jokes are ever funny, Tony. Just come in.”

“ _Fine._ ” The door opened. “Can't I tell you my joke?”

“Nope,” Natasha smirked and closed the book she had been reading. “You wanted something?”

“Yeah, I did, actually. Where's Clint?”

“Taking a shower. It's ten in the evening, you know?”

“Oh. I don't, actually. Sorry. But I have something for you. For Clint, actually. Jarvis, could you please leave him a message on the mirror or something, so he knows I'm waiting for him?”

“Of course, sir.”

Natasha pointed at the tablet in Tony's hands, the only thing the billionaire was holding.

“You know we already have one of those, don't you?” she asked. “Which reminds me, I gave Loki one of the spare phones. And a SIM card, too.”

“Oh. Cool. So when he makes new evil friends, he can give them his number. Great, really.”

“He's not gonna make new evil friends, Tony,” Natasha sighed.

“Yeah, you're right. He's gonna make some super evil friends.”

“Tony...”

“Probably Doom or someone like that...”

“Stark, will you shut up?” she growled. “You know, thanks to Clint, the only thing he uses his phone for right now is playing games.”

“Loki's playing games?” Tony blinked. “Which ones? The World Conqueror? The Ant Killer? The-”

“Angry Birds. The Avengers edition.”

“Damn. Really?”

“Yeah. You know Clint loves that game, right? He showed it to Loki. And from what I've heard, our god became addicted, well... immediately. By the way, he says that the Iron Man bird is completely useless.”

“Oh, of course he does. Fuckin' Space Princess,” Tony muttered.

“Don't call him that.”

“Why? He's not here to hear me, is he?”

“Tony, seriously. Why don't you just sit down, shut up and wait for Clint?”

“Shut up being the most important request, right?”

“Right.”

“You know, I think you don't love me anymore.”

“I never loved you, Tony. I have always found it hard to even like you.”

“One day, I'm gonna die in battle and then you'll feel terribly sorry for what you just said.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Jarvis? Please, tell me Clint is going to be finished soon...”

 

“Make it quick, Tony. I had other plans for tonight than talking to you.”

“That's not how you're supposed to talk to someone who can make your life better, Barton,” Tony smirked.

“Yeah. Right,” Clint nodded when Natasha translated Tony's speech for him. “Is that about those subtitles?”

“Exactly,” Tony grinned and raised the tablet. “Tasha, you can stop translating now. Voila!”

Clint looked at the screen an blinked.

“Did you really say 'Tasha, you can stop translating now. Voila!'?” he asked.

“Yup,” Tony said and grinned. “You know, this is just temporary. Me and Bruce are working on something much better. But you need something now, as Natasha is the only person in the tower who can actually use the sign language, I mean, apart from you, of course, and even that is just because you had already been using it in your missions _before_ the incident with blowing up spaceships happened. I mean, we try, but when we talk to each other, you still need a translation, or you don't know what's going on. So-”

“So you use Jarvis to write it down for me, right?” Clint smiled. “Wow, Tony. This is great.”

“And as I said, we're working on something even better. This is just until the _better_ is finished.”

“If it uses Jarvis, it means it only works in the tower, right?” asked Natasha.

“Well, yeah. But we're working on it, I promise.”

“Oh, damn. It even uses different font colors for different people. That's so cool!” said Clint.

“You can change them in the settings,” said Tony. “That's... that button right here. We set a color for every Avenger... and, well, Loki. I'm red, as you can see, Natasha's orange, Cap is blue, Thor is yellow, Bruce is green and Space Princess is black.”

“And I'm purple, in case I forget what I said,” Clint nodded.

“Well, it's more so you don't get lost in the conversation so easily. But... whatever.”

Clint looked up from the tablet, a wide smile on his lips.

“Man, I just want to hug you.”

“You can,” Tony grinned and opened his arms.

Clint didn't need to glance to the screen to understand, he just hugged Tony tight.

“Thank you, Tony,” he muttered. “If you can't make me any hearing aids that would actually help, this is the best thing you could have done.”

Tony closed his eyes and sighed.

No, it really wasn't the best thing. But it had to do for now.

 

It was four in the morning when Jarvis tried again.

“Sir,” he said. “I would like to remind you that it is time to go to bed.”

“Working, Jarvis,” Tony answered.

“Sir, I am afraid that I must insist.”

“Don't care, buddy.”

“Sir, agent Barton is very satisfied with the new... toy you gave him. You don't have to destroy yourself trying to finish a new one as soon as possible.”

“Not destroying myself.”

“During this conversation, you have been so far unable to form a proper sentence.”

“Shut up.”

“That is not a proper sentence, sir.”

“Don't. Care.”

“Also, you have drunk twelve cups of coffee during the night.”

“Yep. Know.”

“Shall I alert doctor Banner, sir?”

“Nope. Denied.”

“Sir-”

“Mute.”

He got up from the high chair and went to make himself another cup of coffee.

 

The next morning, when Bruce stepped into the workshop, Tony was fast asleep on the couch. He didn't wake up for the next ten hours.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce is concerned about Tony. Loki is bored. And he really needs a certain someone to talk to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhm, hello. I know this chapter took me so long you probably don't remember this fanfic anymore. The thing is, I had so much work to do for my school that even when I had some time to write, I simply didn't, because my brain was so stressed-out. But I am back now and I promise the next chapter won't take a month.
> 
> Oh, and by the way, all the comments are really appreciated. =)

“I really hope he's not picking up his old habits again,” Bruce sighed. “Jarvis says he's been working all night.”

“But what was he working on?” asked Natasha.

“Top secret,” Bruce smirked. “Sorry, I swore to Tony that I would keep my mouth shut.”

“That big surprise for me, eh?” asked Clint. “Something better than the tablet.”

“Yes.”

“He doesn't have to destroy himself building it for me, you know? This is pretty awesome. Not as good as having my hearing back, but... close enough.”

“Don't tell me, tell Tony. Well, when he wakes up,” said Bruce. “I guess he just feels guilty.”

“It's not his fault that my ears are so damaged that nothing can help me to hear again.”

“Yeah, but... You know he likes to think he's a genius and he can solve _everything_. When he sees something he actually _cannot_ solve, he's... He just wants to help the best he can.”

“I'll talk to him later,” Natasha murmured. “And _explain_.”

“Just don't torture him,” said Clint. “Or just a little. Okay?”

“We'll see about that.”

The elevator door opened and Loki walked into the room. He hesitated for a moment when he saw three people there.

“Uhm, hello,” he said. “Am I... interrupting?”

“Oh, just a discussion about your new mortal enemy. I mean, your least favorite Avenger. Or an Avenger who likes you the least.”

“You mean Stark?” Loki raised his eyebrows. “Wait, did you just answer my question?”

“New tech,” Clint grinned. “Did you need anything?”

“I did, actually. I was looking for you.” Loki cleared his throat, took his new phone out of his pocket and handed it to Clint. “Could you, please? I've been trying to do this level for an hour now. I have to admit that I am stuck.”

“Hawkeye to the rescue!” grinned the archer and took the phone. “Guys, just go on, talk as much as you want. I'll catch up with you later.”

“Great. Just what we needed.” Bruce shook his head. “Two people addicted to the same game.”

“Who said it was the same game?” asked Natasha. “Well, of course it _is_. I admit it was a mistake to let Clint show Loki his favorites, but hey, I thought it would help him to kill some time. By the way, Loki, you look like shit. Did you even sleep?”

“Of course I did. For a few hours. After playing for... a few hours. But can you really blame me? I am bored.”

“You've been here for two days,” said Natasha. “How can you be bored?”

“Oh, believe me, I can, with mostly Thor for the company. You forget that I am stuck in this tower. Or am I allowed to roam the city I once tried to invade?”

“We... haven't discussed that, but I suppose... Yeah, why not? Bruce?”

“Don't ask me, ask Cap,” Bruce shrugged.

“Maybe you could give me a tour through the city when the buildings aren't crashing down?” Loki suggested.

“Jarvis?” said Natasha. “Tell Steve that me and Loki are going out.”

“Wait, what?” Loki blinked. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. Get dressed.”

 

“Well, that was a very short walk,” Natasha smirked as she watched Loki sipping on his coffee. “Six minutes and thirty-one seconds.”

Loki licked his lips.

“Sorry? But if it helps, I am definitely less bored now.”

“I never thought you would be the type to love coffee. Also, dark and no sugar... Tony would like that.”

“Stark would probably think that it is a part of some plan to kill all the Avengers.”

“Kill us all with coffee. I'm surprisingly okay with that,” she nodded.

“Why is he so terribly suspicious, Natasha?”

“Well, you _are_ a villain, you tried to kill us several times, then you are suddenly on the same ship, well, _spaceship_ , as we are and you order us around and claim that we cannot defeat Thanos without you.”

“You would never-”

“That's not the point, Loki. Because when we defeat him, with your help, yes, you disappear-”

“I didn't disappear. I was taken prisoner. Odin-”

“And then you show up again, with Thor, and you beg us-”

“I didn't _beg_.”

“What is this?” she smirked and raised her eyebrow. “A contest in interrupting each other's sentences?”

“It looks like it,” he shrugged. “So you are saying that he's right to be suspicious, even when he's the only one to let it show? Because I know _you_ , Natasha, are... well, let's say cautious, too. And so is Captain. And Bruce.”

“Clever little god,” she nodded. “But Clint trusts you. I don't know what happened on that spaceship, not all of it. But you must have given him a reason to trust you.”

“I shared a piece of information about myself with him. That's all.”

“What information?” she asked.

“Do you think I will tell you?”

“Honestly? No, I don't.”

She raised her cup of coffee, much sweeter than she would like to admit, and took a sip.

“I am sorry about his hearing,” Loki said after few seconds of silence. “I could have saved it, heal him, but I never got a chance. They imprisoned me the moment the battle was over. I tried to explain, I knew he was probably injured, _I was,_ and he is a mere mortal... But they didn't listen to me.”

“That's okay. I mean... Clint's okay with it,” she sighed. “I must admit that I just... don't get it. When we told him, well, written it down for him, that his ears were damaged beyond repair, he just... nodded and said that it doesn't matter. He was glad to be alive, yes, he expected to die during that mission and you got him out. But... I can't imagine it, you know? I try, but... Not hearing anything ever again? That's terrible.”

“Yes. It is.”

She closed her eyes.

“So your magic doesn't do miracles, eh?”

“I am not a healer, Natasha. I... I know something about healing in battle. I can stop the bleeding, keep you alive until you get to the _real_ healer, I can make body organs work, but not... completely repair them. And I can do these things only when the injuries are fresh.”

“Still bleeding, if possible, I get it.”

“Yes. Because the... tissue still remembers how it is supposed to look like when it's all right. You know, muscles and bones and... It knows how it should be connected and function. And I can use that information and repair it. Healing with magic, it's not just... _I'll snap my fingers and it's going to be fine again_. It doesn't work like that. You must _know_ something about the body.”

“I see.”

“I doubt that, with your eyes closed.”

She actually smiled a little.

“So you dragged me out of the tower just to drink coffee with you and talk about Hawkeye, right?”

“I'm sorry, but I don't have a coffee machine in Thor's flat. Apparently, he _had_ one, but it got in the way of Mjölnir once and Stark never replaced it. And I don't feel comfortable in the common spaces. I don't want to run into Stark, you know. It might result in some... accidents. He might for example appear in the middle of a football field during the game, completely naked.”

“Let's be honest here, Loki. He's Tony Stark.”

“Meaning?”

“It probably wouldn't be his first time.”

 

Tony raised his gaze from the mug in his hand and stared at Bruce.

“And you just _let them_? What if he kills her? What if he wants to take us down, one by one? What if he convinces her to join him? Wait, okay, that could never happen. But what if-”

“Don't you just want to go back to sleep, Tony?” Bruce sighed. “Because you are seriously paranoid. You need rest. You need-”

“I can't rest. I've got work to do.”

“Tony.”

“I'm not paranoid, okay? I just don't like him. And don't trust him. At least I won't be surprised when our little cute Space Princess stabs us in the back.”

“And what if he doesn't?”

“It's _Loki_ , Bruce. He will. Just ask Thor.”

“Yeah, you're not paranoid at all, Tony...”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki meets Tony in the kitchen, has a chat with Clint and spars with Natasha. One of these things doesn't go very well for him. You can guess which.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again. I swear the next chapter won't take me a week. (Or at least I hope that it won't.) Thank you all for your comments, they mean so much to me! =)

“Gotcha! What the hell are you doing here?”

Loki sighed, closed the fridge door and slowly turned around.

“Oh, nothing, Stark. I have planted a bomb inside the fridge and it will be triggered the next time someone goes to fetch something to eat, blowing up the whole building. Not me, of course, because I will teleport myself away right before the explosion. _Seriously_ , Stark? My stupid oaf of a brother drank all the orange juice from his fridge, so I had to come here if I waned some for breakfast. See?” He raised his glass filled with bright liquid.

“Breakfast? Princess, it's the middle of the night.”

“Six.”

“What?”

“It's six in the morning.”

“Yeah, the middle of the night.”

“Captain's already up. He went for a run.”

“I don't care about Cap, _you_ , on the other hand-”

“I'm an early riser. Always have been.”

Tony shrugged.

“Are you sure you're not setting in motion some kind of a diabolical plan?”

“Pretty sure,” Loki nodded and took a sip of his juice. “Wait. You didn't get up this soon. You haven't gone to bed yet.”

“I'm on my way. I'm just hungry. So if you could...”

Loki rolled his eyes and stepped away from the fridge. Tony put his hand on the fridge door, but then hesitated and shot a very suspicious glare in Loki's direction. The god shook his head.

“I was joking about the bomb, _of course_.”

“Just checking,” said Tony.

“Although now I am very tempted to actually-”

“You only wanted the juice, right? You can go now. You know, back to Thor's place.”

“Of course, Stark,” Loki sighed. “Good night to you.”

“Yeah. Good morning to you, too.”

 

Clint raised his eyes from the tablet and grinned.

“And you didn't kill each other? Wow.”

“I don't want to kill him,” Loki shrugged. “Well, I did, for a moment, but I guess that's a feeling most of you experience sometimes, so...”

“Several times a day, actually,” Clint nodded. “Tony can be a real pain in the ass if he wants to. And even if he doesn't. I guess most of the time he doesn't, because when he _does_ , he can be even _bigger_ pain in the ass. Probably the biggest in the whole world.”

“You haven't met me when I'm not in the mood.”

“Oh, I have,” Clint grinned. “Because seriously, if you don't call the mind control and invading Earth thing 'not in the mood', then I don't _want_ to meet you when you're not in the mood. What do you do, blow things up the moment you see them? Oh, sorry, you did that then, too...”

“Clint, I begin to understand why Natasha calls you an _idiot_.”

“She calls me _her_ idiot,” said Clint.

“Yes. Of course. How could I forget?”

“Yeah, how?” sighed Clint. “So what are you like when you're not in the mood, Loki?”

“The same as Stark, only much worse. Or at least a little bit worse. Definitely worse, though.”

“Man, I don't wanna hear you getting into arguments.”

“Don't worry. You won't.”

“That was _so_ mean, Loki. Why are you hurting my feelings?” Clint smirked. “But yeah, you're right, I won't. And judging from your face right now, I should be really glad for being deaf, right?”

“I don't know what you are talking about, agent Barton,” said Loki.

“Of course you don't,” Clint nodded. “But it won't be my fault if he throws you out. And I don't mean literally, like you do it to him, but... You know, if he tells you to leave the tower.”

Loki hesitated.

“He could do that?”

“Yeah, of course he could. It's his bloody tower. He doesn't have to let you stay here.”

“Oh. I haven't... actually thought about that. I must admit that it would make things very... complicated for me.”

“And much less complicated for Tony. But I don't think... Wait a minute, I've got a new message,” said Clint and picked up his phone. “Don't speak, I can't hear you. Just... Oh, that's Nat. she wants me to go sparring with her. Would you mind...”

“Of course not, Clint. I will go and... I don't know, probably play some games, since I have nothing else to do. Thank you for the chat.”

“Or you could go with me. I'm sure Nat will gladly kick a god's ass.”

“You meant _try_ to kick a god's ass.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Clint stood up with a smirk on his lips. “Come on. Let's go.”

 

Natasha's back hit the ground and pain shot straight through her shoulder. Long, elegant fingers closed around her neck and she felt a tip of a dagger pressing into her stomach.

“Do you yield?” asked a breathless voice.

She considered her options, but then nodded. Or at least attempted to nod.

“Yeah,” she said. “Let me go.”

Loki stood up and held out his hand so he could help her get to her feet, too.

“You were very good,” he said. “Considering that you are a Midgardian. I hope that I didn't hurt you?”

“Why would you think you did?”

“Because you just winced when you tried to straighten your back.”

“It's just a bruised shoulder, nothing to worry about. You know, I may be a woman, but I can take-”

“Here, let me have a look.”

Suddenly, Loki was touching her shoulder blade. She felt a strange, tingling sensation on her skin. Then the tingling turned into warmth which was spreading through her muscles, through her bones...

“I thought you sucked as a healer.”

“I do, but this is something I have known from a very young age, because Thor always wanted to train more, train harder... And his teacher wouldn't allow him to when his muscles were hurt. And of course, there was no way he could ask _mother_ , because she would only scold him for pushing his limits too much, so... _Loki, brother, you know that I love you, right_?”

“Oh. I see. But I admit you're very good at _this_ kind of healing magic...” she murmured. “Oh, right there. God...”

“At your service.”

The door of Clint's archery practice room swung open and said archer walked into the gym.

“So, who won?” he asked. “And should I be jealous because a tall, handsome bloke is giving my girlfriend a massage? By the way, you will have to sign the answer, because I don't have my... I'm pretty sure that gesture wasn't sign language, Nat.”

She only smirked at him.

 

Loki gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.

“Thor. I told you just yesterday, that I don't want to spend an evening-”

“I am sorry, brother, but lady Natasha insists.”

“Natasha, Thor, her name is _Natasha_ , not _lady Natasha_.”

“Well, she wants you to come and join us this evening. We are going to watch a movie together. I believe it is called _Frozen_ and it is some kind of a fairytale.”

“A fairytale, Thor? Seven adults are supposed to watch a movie intended for children?”

“Well, five. Stark said he would be in his workshop and doctor Banner claims that it is necessary to supervise him, so-”

“No Stark then?” Loki frowned. “Okay, so if the lady insists... Let's go.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint, Natasha, Steve, Thor and Loki watch Frozen. What could go wrong? Also, Thor and Loki have a serious talk. And Thor isn't nearly as funny as he thinks he is...

“Seriously, another song?”

“No talking, Loki,” sighed Steve and paused the video. “Rule number one. Don't you remember them?”

“Of course I do. Rule number two, no noisy eating. Rule number three, no comparing yourself to the characters. How did you even get _that_ rule?”

“Game of Thrones,” smirked Natasha. “Every time Tony walked into the room, he yelled 'winter is coming'. He punched the air whenever someone on TV said Stark. He wanted to rename the tower and call it Winterfell. Should I continue?”

“Honestly, I don't know what you are talking about,” frowned Loki.

“That calls for a Game of Thrones marathon,” grinned Clint. “Not now, of course. And definitely not with Tony. He hasn't learned to respect rule three yet. The only thing that convinced him to stop with the 'winter is coming' bullshit was when one time he did it, Bruce turned around and his eyes were bright green.”

“Contact lenses, of course,” said Natasha. “But it worked.”

“And thank God for that,” nodded Steve. “But could we watch the movie now, please?”

“What, you like it that much? Reminds you of the time _you_ were literally _frozen_?” winked Clint.

“Oh, I knew it was a joke at my expense. So stop it, Barton, or I'll turn off the subtitles.”

“What is this? A ' _make fun of Clint's disabilities_ ' day? It was to be expected from Loki, but you, Cap?”

“Shut up, darling, or I'm confiscating your tablet.”

“And now _you_ , Nat? Oh, dear, I feel so unloved.”

“Friend Barton?” smiled Thor. “Be quiet.”

It was the mischievous glint in blonde's blue eyes, not the words, that made Clint salute and shut up.

“Finally,” said Steve. “Can I press play?”

“No. I don't understand,” sighed Loki. “Why do they have to _sing_ all the time? Natasha?”

“Later. After the movie. Trust me, Loki, Steve is about to hulk out.”

“But-”

“Rule... number... fucking... _one_ ,” growled Steve and Elsa could finally continue with her song.

 

Clint was fast asleep by the time the movie ended, his head on Natasha's lap, and the Widow wasn't so far from nodding off herself.

She woke up, however, when Steve turned off the TV.

“Oh, finally,” she murmured. “Nice fairytale, but I am bloody tired. How did our gods like it?”

“It was a beautiful story,” grinned Thor. “I truly loved it. Especially the relationship between-”

“It was stupid,” said Loki.

“Why would you say that, brother?” frowned Thor.

“That beautiful story of yours?” smirked Loki. “Absolutely... implausible. That could never happen!”

“It's a fairytale, Loki,” said Steve. “Of course that there can't be a child-”

“They just... accepted her! She was a monster and they ended up _loving_ her,” snorted Loki. “How could anyone ever accept a monster? How could her own sister love her? It doesn't work like that!”

“She wasn't a monster, Loki,” sighed Natasha. “She was just different from the others. Special. Gifted.”

“It's a fairytale,” Steve repeated. “It's supposed to teach children tolerance. The fact that you are different doesn't mean that you are _bad_.”

“Oh, but it does,” murmured Loki. Then he disappeared.

“What?” blinked Natasha. “Thor, what the hell-”

“Jarvis, where is he?” asked Thor and stood up.

“In his bedroom, sir.”

“I am sorry, but I... I must go,” sighed Thor. “Good night, my friends.”

 

Thor didn't bother with knocking. He knew that Loki would only tell him to go away. But Thor _had_ to talk with his brother. And judging by the fact that the door wasn't locked, neither physically nor magically, Loki didn't really want to keep him out.

“You know what would Stark call you?” asked Thor. “A drama queen, brother.”

Loki was staring out of the window, his arms crossed over his chest, his breathing shallow.

“Probably,” he said. “What do you want, you oaf? Oh, no, let me guess. You came to tell me that I am not a monster. You came to tell me that you accept me. That you _love_ me. Sentiment, Thor. _Again_. One day, it will kill you.”

“I do love you, Loki.”

“Seriously? You know what I am. Odin told you.”

“Of course he did.”

“How can you claim that you love me? That you don't _mind_? I remember how you wanted to slay all the monsters, to make them _fear you_. I am one of the monsters. Why am I not dead yet?”

“Do we have to go through this again? You are my brother. Loki...”

“Adoptive brother,” whispered Loki.

“No. Just _brother_.”

Loki closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His hands were trembling, he could feel it.

“You would never accept me if you saw my true face.”

“Try me,” said Thor without hesitation.

Another deep breath. Loki tried to keep his face calm. At least his face.

He felt the chill creeping up his spine, he saw his reflection on the window change... And soon, he was staring into his very own eyes, the eyes as red as fresh blood...

He turned around and noticed the slight widening of Thor's eyes, noticed an involuntary flinch of his muscles, noticed the sharp intake of breath.

“See?” he smirked. “I told you so.”

“No. _No_ ,” said Thor and immediately composed himself. “I was merely surprised.”

“Well, what did you expect, _brother_?” asked Loki and the coldness in his voice had nothing to do with the temperature of his skin. “That I wouldn't _look_ like them? Exactly like them? I am so sorry to disappoint you, Thor, but I am... What do you think you are doing?!”

Thor, who took a few steps forward during Loki's little monologue, raised his hand and touched the side of Loki's neck.

“Well, you are not as cold as I expected you to be,” he smiled.

“You idiot,” gasped Loki. “How... How could you _know_...”

“I did some reading when father told me. Before I even knew you... were still alive after your fall. Jotuns can control their body temperature. Their skin becomes freezing cold in a fight, but when they are calm, they are... safe to touch for an Asgardian.”

“You...” Loki's eyes were wide with shock. “You _read_? You mean... a _book_?”

“Oh, Loki,” laughed Thor. “No matter how you look like, you will always be my mischievous little brother.”

“But I am-”

“And let me tell you, if you call yourself a monster one more time, I will place Mjölnir on your phone and not lift it until you swear to me not to do it _ever_ again.”

“There are times when I truly hate you, Thor,” smirked Loki. “But this is, suprisingly, not one of them.”

And then Thor found himself being hugged tight by a pair of cold arms. He didn't hesitate to return the embrace.

 

When Loki came to the kitchen the next morning, there was a tiny snowman made of blue ice cream standing on a plate in the fridge and Loki could hear his brother _giggling_ in his room.

Thor spent the next few days with his hair in the exact same shade of blue. None of the Avengers ever found out the reason for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so, so much for all the kudos and lovely comments. They are probably the only thing that made me write the next chapter in less than a week. Well, the comments and the fact that I have three more days to learn forty-eight pages about the history of film for my exam. So bear in mind that your comments are probably something that will stop me from going insane in the near future... :D


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki should stop going into the common kitchen. He really should. He meets way too many people there. For example an inventor who apparently dislikes sleeping even more than he dislikes Loki...

Just two (surprisingly boring) days after Thor's hair mysteriously turned blue, Tony walked into the kitchen on the common floor. Well, to be more precise, he nearly _crawled_ into said kitchen. He just spent thirty-seven hours and fourteen minutes in the lab, as he was informed by Jarvis. He was pretty close to a caffeine overdose, as he was also informed by Jarvis. And he just decided that it would probably be better to listen to the AI's advice for once (just because he wanted to, of course, not because Jarvis threatened to lock him out of the workshop for the next two days) and go to sleep.

But not before grabbing something to eat, because Tony, as he realized the moment he stepped out of the workshop, was starving.

Of course that starving started to seem like a really great idea when he ran into their resident crazy god in the kitchen.

Or crawled. Whatever.

“Oh, damn,” frowned the inventor. “It's morning again?”

“It would seem so. Although it is only half past five this time,” murmured the god without turning his gaze from the contents of the fridge. “Why isn't there anything to eat in your fridge?”

“How the hell should I know?” smirked Tony. “Ask your friend Barton.”

“Sleeping,” said Loki. “I am hungry.”

“Well, welcome to the club, Space Princess.”

“You do realize that you do not have to stand near the window in order for me to throw you out of it, Stark?”

“Oh, we're not in the mood, baby? What is it, PMS?”

The god sniffed and then wrinkled his nose.

“Stark, have you even showered for the past two days?”

“Don't know. Can't remember. If my smell offends you, feel free to, you know, go away.”

“I cannot. Thor ate everything again. I am waiting for the day he eats the fridge itself.” Loki bit his lower lip. “Damn, I want waffles.”

“Make some?” suggested Tony.

“I don't know how.”

“Well, wait until Cap gets up, he'll make you some.”

“I am hungry _now_ , Stark.”

Tony rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Not my problem. And... You know what? I'm actually not hungry anymore. I'll just have an apple or something, I think I have some in _my own_ kitchen, so good night, morning, whatever. I'm going to bed.”

“Stark? Do you know how to make waffles?”

“Not for you, sorry,” said Tony and turned around. “And you can threaten me all you like. But if you want to turn my hair blue, at least make it TARDIS blue, will you?”

“ _What_ blue?” blinked Loki.

“Never mind that,” smirked Tony and started to walk away. “Bye, Space Princess.”

There was a _ding_ of an elevator. And, only few seconds later, another one.

Soon, Tony came back with his hair bright red and a very unamused look on his face.

“You know what? I just started to crave waffles. I think I'll make some for myself and you can have some, too. How does that sound?”

“Splendid, Stark,” grinned Loki. “You know, I think blue would clash with your suit. Red, on the other hand-”

“Shut up, you little shit, or I swear I'll _personally_ return you to your dad.”

Tony didn't see Loki's whole body tense. He was busy looking for the recipe on his phone.

“I understand,” said Loki quietly. “I am sorry.”

“Yeah, that's the way I like it, babe...”

 

In the end, Tony had to admit that waffles had been a great idea. He would never admit it to _Loki_ , of course, but admitting it to himself was a huge step forward, too.

And he didn't even blow up the kitchen, which was really surprising.

It certainly _looked_ like he blew it up, but you can't avoid some casualties, right?

“Well, I expect you to at least clean this all up, Princess,” said Tony and gestured towards the mess on the kitchen cabinets, including a mountain of dirty dishes and waffle batter slowly dripping on floor.

“Of course, Stark,” nodded Loki and immediately stood up.

Tony blinked. Only then did he realize that Loki hadn't been his usual sassy self since he started cooking. The inventor cleared his throat.

“Uhm, hello? Space Princess? You got what you wanted, right? But you look like someone kicked your favorite puppy. Or... broke your favorite dagger. Or something like that.”

“And your point is?”

“Well... I don't even know. Just ignore me. I'm going to bed.”

He stood up and took a few steps towards the kitchen door.

“Would you really drag me back to Asgard?” asked Loki suddenly.

“What?” frowned Tony and turned his head. “Of course not, for fuck's sake. Thor would nail my hide to the wall with his beloved hammer if I did that.”

“Oh. Okay,” nodded Loki. “Well, thank you for the breakfast, Stark. It was surprisingly good.”

“Surprisingly,” smirked Tony. “Can I go now? And is my hair back to normal?”

“It has been back to normal for the past twenty minutes,” said Loki. “Go. And good... night.”

“Yeah. Thanks, I guess.”

 

Roughly a minute later, Steve stepped through the door and stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes grew wide with shock.

“Oh f... I mean, what the... I mean...” He closed his eyes and opened them again. He wasn't hallucinating. “What happened here? I just met Tony and he said that he... wouldn't go to the kitchen if he were... me... You tried to kill each other again, didn't you?”

“Stark was making waffles,” said Loki and reached for another dirty bowl.

“Right,” nodded Steve. “I guess it would look a lot _less_ messy if you fought here. God...”

“Yes?” smirked Loki. “I promise that the kitchen will be spotless in a few minutes. I would clean it up with magic, of course, but I don't want to waste it on household chores.”

“I... see. Unfortunately.” Steve shook his head. The mess couldn't be real. “Okay, I won't ask how did you manage-”

“Just _Stark_ , Captain, I had nothing to do with it. Well, except for sort of forcing him to cook, but...”

“I really don't want to know,” sighed Steve. “Loki, have you ever washed the dishes before?”

“I am... _was_ a prince of Asgard. What do you think?” smirked Loki. “Why?”

“Well, first, you are using way too much dish soap. Second-”

“Oh, to Hel with it,” snorted Loki and raised his right hand. He made a complicated gesture with his fingers and exactly one second later, the kitchen was clean.

“By the way, we have a dishwasher,” said Steve. “What did you say about not wasting magic?”

“That it's better to waste my magic on washing the dishes than lose my temper and waste my magic on making the dishes _explode_.”

“Yeah, you have a point. Probably.” Steve opened the fridge door and sighed. “How the hell did you manage to convince Tony to cook for you?”

“And I thought that you didn't want to know,” smirked Loki.

“It wasn't mind control, was it?”

“Definitely not, Captain.”

“Fine. So...” He frowned. “Should I ask where are all the eggs, Loki?”

“Probably not. But it wasn't my fault.”

“My own flat,” murmured Steve. “I definitely need my own flat.”

“You have your own flat.”

“No, I mean... Somewhere else. In another building. Or another city. Or another _state_. What do you think about Alaska? I think Alaska sounds _great_. No Tony Stark in sight. No crazy gods in sight. No offense. Wait, not Alaska. I have had enough of cold for the rest of my life. How about Hawaii?”

“What did Tony do to you this time?” asked Bruce from the door. “Good morning, by the way. Morning, Loki. Does anyone know if Tony has finally gone to bed? Because if he hasn't, I'm going to need someone to drag him out of that workshop before I get angry,.”

“He has,” said Steve. “What do you want for breakfast? You can have either toast or toast or... toast... Or some cereals. But we don't have any milk. Where is all the milk, for... No, I _don't_ want to know. Jarvis? I believe we will have to make a grocery list. And I know exactly who's gonna go shopping...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you so much for all your comments for the last chapter. :) I have succesfully passed my terrible exam, now I only have to write some essays for school, but that won't stop me from writing FrostIron, too. =D That means that this fanfic will probably be updated more often. Or at least I hope that it will... :D


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Natasha go shopping. And there are some bets. That's all really. Well, almost...

Natasha raised her eyebrows when she saw Loki in the garage.

“Are you really going to go out wearing this?” she asked.

Loki blinked. “Excuse me? These are my usual clothes. It's a casual Asgardian-”

“Yes. Asgardian.”

“What's wrong with Asgardian?” asked Loki. “I wore the same clothes when we went for a walk that one time.”

“Yes, and if I wasn't there with you, you would've come back home with the phone numbers of at least five girls and three guys.”

“Uhm,” said Loki. “And what exactly is wrong with that?”

“You have to admit that they're a bit old-fashioned,” she continued and opened the door of one of the less conspicuous cars in the garage. “And besides, do you ever wash them? Or do you just make them happen with magic, hm?”

“Agent Romanov,” smirked Loki. “What is going on?”

“I don't know what you're talking about. Just get in the car, will you? And don't forget your seat belt.”

“It's a bet, isn't it? With Barton.”

“And if it was?”

“How much?”

“A hundred dollars.”

“You actually made a bet that you will force me to buy new clothes? Midgardian?”

“Clint says that you're way too proud to wear our clothes. He also said that you wouldn't stand having them on your body anyway. You know, you're used to linen and leather and so on...”

“Oh. I see.”

“Loki?” Natasha sighed.

“What?”

“Get in the bloody car.”

 

He just let her drive him wherever she wanted to. Why would he argue? He liked Clint, he really did, but he also liked proving people wrong. And besides, he wasn't able to cause much mischief now, so he had to make use of every opportunity.

But when she parked her car near some shops which looked way too luxurious even to him, he hesitated.

“Natasha? You do realize that I do not have any money, don't you? Odin didn't exactly give me any budget, when he ex... when he kindly allowed me to spend the rest of my life on Midgard.”

“Don't worry about that. The Avengers have their own... budget.”

“You do?”

“Otherwise known as Tony Stark's credit card.”

“What?” Loki blinked. “No. No way, Natasha. I don't want Stark's money.”

“Not money. Clothes. You need them.”

“Do you realize how angry he will be?” said Loki. “Did you ask him before offering this to me?”

“Loki, I don't know if you know, but Tony is rich. Like... on of the richest people on the planet. You could buy yourself a Ferrari using his money and he would never notice.”

“That doesn't answer my question.”

She sighed.

“Of course I didn't ask him. He's so fast asleep that he wouldn't wake up even if you started another alien invasion. But if it helps, we tried asking him when he offered us the credit card in the first place. We asked him if he was okay with us buying this and that... Two weeks later, he threatened to shove the credit card into the ass of the next person to ask him. So...”

“But he wouldn't want _me_ to use his money. And I don't want any of it. I can magic up some Midgardian clothes.”

“Would you feel better if I bought you something with _my own_ money?” she sighed. “Consider it a gift from me and Clint.”

“But-”

“Not here, obviously. I couldn't afford to buy a pair of socks here. But we could buy you something to wear... somewhere else. And then go buy the groceries, of course.”

“You really don't have to do this, Natasha.”

“I know,” she smiled and started the car again. “By the way, what exactly did you do to Steve that he send you shopping?”

“What?” he blinked.

“We usually order the groceries, of course. But once in a while, when someone pisses Steve off, he sends them shopping. As a punishment, you see. Because each and every one of us hates shopping. Well, except for Thor. When he's in the supermarket, it's like Alice in Wonderland,” she smirked.

“Alice in...”

“Just ask Jarvis. Oh, and then of course, Tony never goes shopping. Cap _tried_ to make him go a few times, but then Tony wanted him to start paying rent, so... Well, _what_ did you do to Cap?”

“I didn't do anything. It was Stark. Mostly,” Loki murmured.

“Just what I'm talking about,” she nodded. “Do we have a long list, by the way?”

“It takes up a whole page. In two columns.”

“Oh, my...”

 

Several hours later on the common floor of the Avengers Tower, Loki stepped out of the elevator with nine paper bags full of groceries floating in the air behind him.

“Handy,” commented Bruce.

“Shut up,” said Tony.

“It _is_ quite handy,” said Natasha when she entered the room. “By the way, I'm not unpacking it.”

“I'll do it,” Bruce sighed and stood up. “By the way, was Loki really wearing black jeans?”

“Yes.”

“And a green T-shirt?”

“Look, I _tried_ , okay? But green seems to be his favorite color. Green and black. Almost everything we bought is in green and black.”

“Any problem with that, agent?” smirked Loki, who was just returning from the kitchen. “I didn't hear any complaints when I was trying it on. Oh, and I am sure that I have at least one white shirt.”

“Of course,” she nodded. “Thanks for taking all the bags.”

“No problem. Thank you for the clothes.”

“You definitely owe me a favor for them,” she smiled. “Now be a good boy and go put them in your closet.”

“A good boy? Damn, what have you been up to? Fifty shades of Black Widow?” Tony blinked.

“You know what, Stark?” Loki smirked. “Sometimes I'm really glad for not being able to understand your babbling.”

“You would understand if you weren't, you know, an alien,” said Tony.

“Speaking of which, I think I know the perfect _alien_ location for your next vacation. Jotunheim. You don't need to bring any warm clothes and it's perfectly safe. Or maybe Svartalfheim. The sandstorms there are lovely, really.”

“Oh, right. And Asgard for you?”

“If you wish.”

“Right. Be a good boy and go hide in your closet before I call your rainbow elevator.”

“Tony...” Bruce sighed.

“We're just kidding. Aren't we, Space Princess?”

“Of course we are. If we weren't, your new window would already be on its way.”

“Your closet is waiting. Have a nice day and don't come here until after dinner when I'll hit the lab.”

“Don't worry, Stark, I'll make sure to avoid you the best I can. Goodbye. Goodbye, Bruce. Bye, Natasha,” he said while heading for the elevator.

“Bye. Oh, and you're still invited for dinner to my place,” said Natasha.

Loki nodded and the elevator door closed.

“Right,” said Tony. “So he didn't want to use my credit card to buy his clothes.”

“I told you,” Natasha replied. “He said that you wouldn't want him to.”

“I don't want him to,” Tony smirked. “Shit, but I really thought he wouldn't care. He doesn't know about the bet, does he?”

“Not about the bet between me and you,” she said.

“Should I ask?” Bruce sighed.

“I said Loki would let Natasha buy clothes for him with my credit card. Natasha said he wouldn't. It seems that I owe her a thousand dollars _and_ the cost of Loki's new clothes. So... how much?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, thank you very much for all your lovely comments! :) Although they kind of make me write this story when I should really be writing other things... :D


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony still thinks that Loki shouldn't be trusted. Clint thinks that Loki should try some alcohol. And Loki probably thinks that he shouldn't have listened to Clint.

“I'm just fed up with it, Bruce. I know he's plotting something. I just _know_ it.”

“No, Tony. You _think_ he's plotting something, although you don't have a single piece of evidence except for your own bad feeling.”

“I know that if I were him, I would have some trick up my sleeve.”

“Tony...”

“Just _think_ , Bruce. You've met him. He's a scheming little piece of shit. He's arrogant, he doesn't give a flying fuck about humans. He hates Thor.”

“I suppose he just wanted to hate Thor, really. I don't know what happened between the two of them, of course. Well, some sort of a family crisis, obviously, but-”

“Bruce. _Think_.”

“I am thinking, Tony.”

“He shows up here. I am not talking about the Thanos business, I am talking about now. He shows up here and he is _nice_ , nice to Barton, nice to Thor, nice to Natasha... Not so nice to me. Care to tell me why?”

“Because you treat him like an enemy, insult him whenever you have a chance and one of the first things you told him was questioning his masculinity, which, from what I've understood, is kind of a big deal in Agsard? Be fair, Tony. You are not nice to him either.”

“But he's _too_ nice to Clint, don't you think? And Clint is way nicer to him than he should be. Mind control, for fuck's sake! Before Thanos, before the whole... spaceship thing, Clint wanted to kill Loki. He didn't even want to accept Loki's help. And now, suddenly... He trusts him? And he's _friends_ with him?”

“Loki saved his life.”

“Yeah, and that's weird, too. Clint had a teleporter, didn't he? Guardians' tech. He came back using that teleporter. Without Loki. How could Loki possibly have saved his life?”

“You know that Clint never told anyone.”

“What if he only thinks that Loki saved his life? What if Loki made him think that? What if it's another mind control, only he's more subtle about it this time?”

“Tony, that's crazy and even you know it.”

“What's so crazy about it?”

“Well, Natasha-”

“She trusts him, too. Without any obvious reason.”

“Clint. Spaceship. Alive.”

“Deaf. For the rest of his life.”

“But he still has that _life_ , Tony.”

“Yeah, but-”

“Look, could you just stop it? It's getting really annoying.”

“But... Bruce.”

“You don't want me to become angry, do you?”

“Certainly not in the workshop.”

“Right. So stop it. And... You know what? If you want to know why does Clint trust Loki, just _ask Clint_. Okay?”

“Okay,” Tony murmured and looked down on his project. Neither he nor Bruce spoke again for the next two hours.

They were used to working in silence, but it had never been that uncomfortable.

 

At the same time, Loki was comfortably sitting on a couch several floors above the workshop. He was still in the two assassins' flat, because they refused to let him leave. Not that Loki minded.

He sipped the deep red liquid from the glass in his hand and frowned.

“No. No,” he said and shook his head. “I've never been a big fan of wine, but this is even worse than Asgardian wine.”

“Right,” Natasha rolled her eyes. “I told you he wouldn't like it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Clint without glancing up from his tablet. “So what about beer? You can try mine, if you want.”

“Well...” Loki reached out and took Clint's beer can. He took a cautious sip. “Hm... Not bad. But not something I need to drink on regular basis.”

“You are not supposed to drink it on regular basis. If you're not Tony Stark, of course. But he doesn't drink beer. Where are you going, Nat?”

“I have an idea,” she smiled.

“Natasha, there really is no need to introduce me to Midgardian alcohol. I don't enjoy drinking very much and I... What's this?”

“Just try it.”

Loki sniffed the golden liquid in the glass she just handed to him.

“Isn't this... what Stark usually drinks?”

“Scotch, yes.”

“I don't want-”

“I think you might enjoy it, Loki. It's either this or sweet cocktails with little umbrellas. But I really hope it's this. I repeat, just try it.”

Loki sighed and obeyed.

“Hm...” he then murmured. “This is actually... not that bad. Maybe even... good. Or... very good.”

“Just don't smash your glass if you want another one, okay?” Clint grinned. “You can have a whole bottle if you want. Neither of us drinks it, I like beer and Natasha drinks either wine or vodka, so...”

“Vodka?” Loki raised his eyebrows. “I think I would like to try some vodka.”

“Well... Thank God he's an Asgardian,” Clint smirked. “Nat?”

“On it. Let's only hope a god can handle Russian vodka...”

 

Thor blinked when he heard a knock on the door, and turned his head just at the moment said door swung open.

“Right. There you go,” came Natasha's voice. “No, Loki, that's a wall. A little bit to the left. I said _left_.”

Thor blinked again and stood up.

“Natasha?” he said. “What have you done to my brother?”

“Nothing. Blame Clint,” she smirked just as she pushed a giggling god through the doorframe. “He insisted on introducing Loki to different types of Midgardian alcohol. Just so you know, your brother likes scotch best, followed by absinth. Don't ask why do we even have absinth.”

“What is absinth?” asked Thor, confused.

“Something we should definitely have in Asgard,” Loki laughed, took a few hesitant steps in Thor's direction and then threw himself right into blond god's arms. “Oh, I love you, brother. And I love this realm. The mortals are so friendly, and the alcohol is _good_!”

“Did you get my brother _drunk_ , Natasha?” Thor smirked.

“Sorry,” she sighed. “You know, you are practically immune to alcohol, so we thought he would be the same. He's not, apparently.”

“Loki has never been very fond of drinking. He gets drunk too easily for... an Asgardian.”

“I kind of noticed,” she nodded. “If it's any consolation, Clint passed out ten minutes ago.”

“Oh, Thor, oh, Thor,” Loki murmured into Thor's shirt. “I have met some great friends here. And the alcohol, Thor, you should try it, definitely. I'm starting to think that I won't mind my exile all that... much...”

“You should probably get him to his bed,” said Natasha. “Sorry again.”

Loki started to snore.

 

Of course the next day, Tony Stark was very much amused when he heard about Clint and Loki's private drinking party.

He was even more amused when Clint walked out of the elevator on the common floor, pale as Loki usually was and with sunglasses on his eyes.

He was even _more_ amused when Loki finally showed up, pale as death, with dark circles around his eyes and long hair ruffled.

Tony walked straight up to him with a bright smile on his face.

“Oh, good morning, Space Princess. Well, good afternoon, in fact,” he said, a lot louder than necessary. “I heard you probably have the biggest hangover known to man and-”

Tony wasn't much amused when his back hit the window, and even less when he realized that yes, the gravity still works.

“ _Jarviiis_!” he screamed, his voice a lot more girly than he would ever admit.

Loki shrugged as the armor flew past him, already beginning to assemble.

“Don't tell him I told you this,” smirked Steve, “but he definitely deserved that. Sit down. I'll make you some coffee. Jarvis?”

“I have already ordered a new window, sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you so much for all your lovely comments. They always make me want to write more and bring me new ideas. Which probably means this story is going to get a bit longer than I expected... :D


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is pissed off and Steve tries to talk some sense into him. Then Tony runs into Loki again, this time on the roof.

“Sir, Captain Rogers would like to see you.”

“Tell him to go to hell,” Tony muttered.

“In those exact words, sir?”

“Yes, Jarvis, in those exact words!” Tony snapped as he poured himself a glass of scotch. “And he can take Loki with him.”

“I am afraid he insists.”

“Then tell him to go fuck himself.”

“I do not think he would take that very kindly, sir. May I-”

“You may not!” Tony shouted. “Just... For _fuck's sake_ , just let him in.”

He had drank the contents of his glass and was just in the process of pouring another one when Steve came in.

“Careful, or you'll be the one with a hangover tomorrow.”

“Careful, or we'll need to replace another window,” Tony smirked. “What do you want, Rogers?”

“You know damn well what I want, Stark.”

“Oh, careful, Cap. Language.”

“Shut up. I want to talk.”

“Right. I'm not offering you my scotch, that would be a terrible waste. There's some beer in the fridge. Probably.”

“Tony-”

“It's a good thing you can't get drunk. That's probably the last thing I need, Loki having a drink with the great Captain America. No, the last thing I need is Loki having a drink with Bruce, actually. Or with the Hulk.”

“I don't think me and Loki are likely to have a drink together.”

“Why not? You seem to be on very good terms. At least you're very friendly, making him coffee and stuff... You never make me coffee.”

“The last time I made you one, Stark, you complained about it for the next two days. That's a little discouraging. And by the way, Loki complained for the next two hours today, so I'm not making coffee for him anymore, either.”

“Just because he wasn't nice to you? Great reason, Cap. I could think of better one.”

“I know. I've talked to Bruce. He told me all about your chats about Loki.”

“A great friend, isn't he?”

Steve sighed and opened his beer.

“You know, I suppose you must think that I am a complete idiot.”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Tony nodded.

“Well, sorry to break it to you, but I'm not.”

“Says who? You?” Tony smirked. “Sorry to break it to _you_ , but-”

“You think that just because I am not as obviously paranoid as you-”

“Hey!”

“You are paranoid, Tony, deal with it. But just because I'm not, just because I'm not completely hostile to him, just because I try to act friendly, you think that I am not keeping an eye on him? Because I am, Tony. You can be sure about that.”

“But...”

“But what?” Steve raised his eyebrows. “You know what your problem is, Stark? You don't think ahead. You expect him to betray us any second, but what if that's not his plan? What would you do if you were him? What if you wanted to play a bigger game? What would you do if you wanted to destroy The Avengers?”

“I...” Tony hesitated. “Well, I would gain our trust, learn our biggest weaknesses, then strike when we wouldn't expect it at all and... Fuck.”

“See? I'm not saying he has such a plan, no,” Steve shook his head. “But if he had one... Why not let him think he has a chance to succeed? Let him think we are too stupid or too arrogant or too weak or too _human_. Just let him strike. Let him _try_.”

“You're sure you're keeping an eye on him?”

“He hasn't left the Tower alone since he came here. Jarvis sees everything what's inside. He will alert me if there's anything amiss.”

Tony sighed and downed his drink.

“But you don't actually think he's plotting something, do you? You think he's sincere.”

“I do. And Clint... He's not stupid. And he trusts him.”

“Yeah, I know, and Natasha does, too.”

“Natasha does,” Steve winked. “But the Widow is alert. Don't worry about it.”

“So you're... basically telling me that I should stop hating Loki and start pretending that I am willing to befriend him, right?”

“Basically,” Steve nodded. “And you should talk to Clint.”

“Why?”

“Because Natasha assured me that there is a really good reason why Clint trusts Loki so much. But he has to tell you himself.”

“Wonderful,” Tony smirked and raised his glass. “To our new wonderful friendship with that Asgardian bitch, which will last until he stabs us right in the back. Yay!”

“Yeah, whatever, Tony...”

 

Tony didn't know what brought him to the roof a few hours later. It was long after midnight and he'd been planning on spending the night in the lab, but he simply wasn't in the right mood. The attempts to go to bed were all terribly unsuccessful ( _three times, damn it, three times he laid down only to get up ten minutes later_ ), there was nothing even remotely interesting on TV...

So there he was. On the roof. Staring at the back of a tall Norse deity obviously staring at the sky. _As if you could see the stars in New York_.

“Holy shit,” Tony gasped when he realized that he could, indeed, see stars, and very clearly at that.

“Oh, hello, Stark,” Loki muttered. “Sleepless?”

“How the hell did you do this?” asked Tony.

“Do you really need to ask?” said Loki without tearing his eyes away from the sky. “Beautiful, isn't it?”

“Yeah, but... It's all... wrong. I'm pretty sure that right there should be-”

“Those are not Midgardian stars, Stark.”

Tony took a step forward and frowned.

“You brought Asgardian stars to-”

“No. Of course not. It's just an illusion. For me, initially, but I decided to share it with you when you came here. Do you mind?”

“Hell no,” Tony shook his head. “Wow. It's... wonderful.”

“It is,” whispered Loki. “And it's all I've got left. The illusion. I shall never see the true Asgardian stars again.”

“You could. If you, you know... went back.”

“Oh, yes. I could see them for one last time,” said Loki, his voice trembling.

Tony turned his head and was surprised to see tears rolling down the god's cheeks.

“Hey,” the inventor said, weakly. He didn't even know how he should continue. What do you say to a crying god? “I...”

“No. No, Stark,” said Loki and shook his head. The illusion started to fade away. “Compared to what's waiting for me there... The illusion is good. Believe me. Very good.”

“Well, I guess nobody wants to spend the rest of their lives in a prison cell,” Tony shrugged.

“Yes. Especially if said rest of their lives would be as short as mine. Good night, Stark.”

“Yeah, good... Wait. What?” Tony asked, but Loki was already gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't planning on updating so soon, but your comments under the last chapter really made me want to write as fast as possible, so... this happened. And I have already written the next chapter, too. That's what those comments do to me, so thank you very much for them! :D
> 
> I wanted to make Tony talk to Clint in this chapter, I really did, but then it just didn't feel... right. But it's going to happen next time, I swear!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony finally talks to Clint about the spaceship. That's really all that happens here.

The next morning, Tony knocked on Clint's door. It opened just a few seconds later.

“It's ten AM,” Natasha said. “And you're up. Is your bedroom on fire? Is there an attack? Is the world ending?”

“Good morning to you, too, Tasha,” Tony smirked. “I need to talk to Clint.”

“Secret project or Loki?” she asked.

“Loki,” Tony admitted. “I need to know-”

“Come in.”

He followed her inside. He was pretty sure she didn't sign anything to Clint. Of course she didn't, he wasn't even facing the door. And when she touched his shoulder and he turned his head, she just  _ nodded _ at him, and then pointed to Tony.

“Hi, Tony,” Clint said. “So you wanna know?”

“How the hell do you-”

“Sorry, Stark, I don't have my tablet. You'll need to sign.”

Tony turned his head to Natasha, clearly alarmed.

“No,” said Clint. “She's not gonna help. Come on, I know you can do it. Ask me.”

“Oh, god,” Tony sighed, then started to think really hard about what sign language he'd learn. -Tell me about how Loki saved your life,- he managed to sign, very slowly.

“Good. See? I knew you know how to do it, baby. Sit down. Do you want some coffee?”

Tony nodded.

 

Five minutes later, he was clutching a cup of coffee and waiting for Clint to start. The archer was clearly thinking about  _ how _ to start.

“Okay,” he said at last. “You remember how we got there in the first place, right? On the spaceship, I mean. It was a crazy mission. Blowing up Thanos's ship from the inside by shooting the explosive arrow into the engines? Too simple to work, but... He would never expect anything that simple. Yeah, and of course that it had to be me and Loki, because the less people involved the better, and Loki was the only person able to lead me through the ship and I was the only person able to shoot that arrow and don't miss. A crazy plan and our only hope.”

-Yes,- Tony signed. -I remember. I was there.-

“And you remember how angry I was that I had to go there with him. I didn't trust Loki. Didn't trust him at all. I fully expected him to turn me in first thing after we teleport. He didn't, of course, and we even managed to make it to the engine room. We had to kill some guards, yeah, but... Loki is terribly effective _and_ quiet when it comes to killing. None of those who noticed us stayed alive. And... Yeah, don't look at me like that, I'm getting there. He showed me the main engine, we made a deal that once it blows up, it's every man for himself and I... I shot. I remember watching the arrow fly. It was a perfect hit. I remember counting to five... And then I froze up. Just froze up. I watched the explosion and I couldn't move, couldn't reach for the teleporter, couldn't even lift a finger. No, don't even think about that. It wasn't Loki's doing. It was... I don't know. I just became so terribly scared all of a sudden. It happens to the best of us. Well, except for Nat, of course.”

-Idiot,- she signed.

“Love you, too,” he smirked. “Well, as I was saying, I froze up. And suddenly Loki was standing in front of me, shouting at me and shielding me with his magic _and_ his body. It caught most of the explosion, not everything, of course. It was enough to keep me alive, not enough to save my ears. I... I'm sorry, Tony, I can't remember how it happened _exactly_ , I just know he pushed the teleporter into my hand and made me press the right button. And then I was back on our ship and I suppose Loki got away. The important thing is, he didn't have to save me. He could have escaped and just let me die. I'd deserve it, to be honest, I know that. But he... He didn't. He helped me. And... I talked to Thor, Tony. He had third degree burns on his body. He shielded himself from the blast, not from the fire. And fire is pretty bad for him, as far as I know. Or at least Thor said so.”

-And that's it?- asked Tony. -The only reason for your trust.-

“Well... No. But are you sure that you want to know?”

Tony nodded.

“Five minutes in, I nearly got both of us killed. I kept my guard up, yeah. I was extremely cautious about _him_ , but not about our surroundings. But as I said, Loki is an incredibly effective killing machine, so he... disposed of the guards in a matter of seconds. And then dragged me into one of the corridors and... Look, you need to know that when he mind controlled me for the first time, I got a few glimpses of his mind. Some memories of Thor, some memories about the Chitauri, fire, lots of fire... And fear.”

Tony raised his eyebrows.

“In that corridor, Loki told me that he'll show me _why_ he hates the Chitauri and Thanos and why he wants to completely destroy them. He didn't wait for my answer and... I'm sure he didn't get into my head, just so you know. He just willingly shared some memories with me. I can't tell you about them. I won't. But let me tell you, I understood the fear. And I saw how much he hates Thanos. More than anything. And I... I knew I could trust him. At least during that mission. Fuck, Tony, he's been through some serious shit. Even you'd go crazy, and you're one of the strongest people I know.”

-What kind of shit?-

“Sorry, you're gonna have to ask him.”

Another nod.

-Thank you.-

“You're welcome,” Clint smiled. “Oh, and by the way, you should _definitely_ ask him. And talk to him. And get to know him. I think you'll like him. He's pretty smart, you know? And he has a really specific sense of humor. He reminds me of someone, actually...”

Tony smirked and gave him the finger.

“Yeah, love you too, Tony...”

 

Tony sighed when the elevator door slid closed behind him.

“Jarvis?” he said. “What do you think?”

“That apart from throwing you out of the window twice, Mr. Liesmith hasn't done anything hostile or suspicious since his arrival, sir.”

“Who? Liesmith? What the hell, J?”

“When Mr. Liesmith arrived, I asked him how would he like to be addressed, sir.”

“And he chose Liesmith? Oh, great. Better than _Your Highness_ , I guess. I thought he would be Odinson, just like Thor. But on the other hand, his dad _is_ kind of a dick, so...”

“Sir, may I bring to your attention the fact that you are still in an elevator?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Someone else might want to use it, sir.”

“Yeah, _so_?”

“I think it would be wise to-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Tony sighed. “And _I_ think... I think I need to _think_ , Jarvis.”

The elevator started to move.

“I am taking you to the workshop, sir.”

“Thanks,” Tony smiled. “I promise there won't be any explosions.”

“You always do, sir...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you very much for all your lovely comments under the last chapter. They mean so much to me, I've never expected this story to be successful, to be honest, so I am really glad so many people enjoy it. :) By the way, I have already written the next two chapters, so you can expect an update pretty soon. ;)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Loki meet in the kitchen once again. It goes surprisingly well this time. Well, at least for a while. And Steve gets a little suprise when he comes to the kitchen in the morning...

“Oh, come _on_!” Tony moaned as he stepped into the kitchen. “This isn't funny anymore!”

“I must agree,” Loki smirked while pouring some milk into a cup of...

“Oh, god, is that _tea_?” Tony frowned. “Are you really turning all English on us, baby?”

“What are you even doing here, Stark? It's three in the morning.”

“I could ask you the same question, you know. It's too early to get up, even for you.”

“I had a nightmare. I... I don't want to go back to sleep just yet.”

Tony grabbed a banana from the kitchen counter and sat down on a nearby bar stool.

“A nightmare, eh?” he said. “And what do gods have nightmares about?”

“You think that I will tell you?”

“I think you might. Come on, Space Princess. What was it, your rainbow bridge thingie not having the right colors?”

“No. But I admit the Bifrost was indeed... there. At least for a while.”

The god didn't move an inch, but Tony could see his muscles tensing and hear his breath quickening.

“Right. It was a serious nightmare, I get it. Sorry,” he sighed. “You don't have to tell me, really.”

To his own surprise, he meant it.

“There was just... a lot of things I don't want to think about,” Loki said. “Including how I failed during my and Clint's mission.”

Tony cursed inwardly. In the workshop, he decided that no, he doesn't want Loki's version of the story,  _ thankyouverymuch _ , but now, when the perfect opening was presented to him on a silver platter, well...

“I talked to Clint, actually,” he heard himself saying. “I don't see how you failed there. In fact, Clint practically said you were the only reason he succeeded and came back alive.”

“You know what I'm talking about, Stark,” said Loki and turned around so he was facing Tony. “The reason for my words is the same thing that keeps you in your workshop all night. You think you failed, too.”

Tony smirked.

“We have rules about psychoanalysis in this tower, Lokes.”

“And don't you?”

“That's not the point here. You think you failed just because you didn't save his hearing?”

“Yes, I do.”

Tony finally started to peel his banana.

“Interesting,” he murmured. “But I don't think he sees it that way. He just... accepts the whole thing as something he can't change. It's driving me crazy, to be honest. But you know, he told me more. He says you showed him something from your past, something that made him trust you.”

And there it was, Loki tensing again and staring at Tony with wide eyes.

“Did he tell you what?” he gulped.

“He only said it was some serious shit.”

Loki nodded and relaxed again. Well, at least a bit.

“And you... Would like to see, too,” he murmured.

“Yes,” Tony nodded. “But you're not gonna show me, are you?”

“I am not.”

“Of course. Why him and not me?”

“You hate me.”

“So did he when you showed him.”

“Yes, but...” Loki hesitated. “But I had to. That day, my life depended on him knowing. I had to convince him to stop behaving like a child and do what he was supposed to do. So I convinced him. And believe me, Stark, I am not glad that I did. Even Thor doesn't know what Clint does.”

“Fabulous. So you're gonna show me when your life depends on it?”

A sad smile appeared on Loki's lips.

“Maybe.”

Tony rolled his eyes and sighed.

“He also said I should get to know you. I would start to like you if I did, apparently.”

“Oh, I don't think so. I don't think _I_ would start to like _you_ in the first place.”

“What's there _not_ to like?” Tony frowned.

“Would you like a list?”

“No, I'm fine, thanks.” Then Tony hesitated. “No, you know what? Yeah, I'd like a list of my character flaws. But I want to make a list of _yours_ in return.”

“You wish to humiliate me, Stark?”

“Well, _you_ started it.”

Loki stirred his tea, then nodded.

“I accept. I wasn't going to go back to bed, anyway.”

“I was going to go back to the workshop, but screw it. This is gonna be fun,” Tony grinned. “J? Where could we find two pieces of paper and two pens?”

The requested tools appeared on the kitchen counter before he even finished the sentence. And Loki sat down on a bar stool that definitely wasn't there a few seconds ago.

 

“I'm _bored_ , Space Princess,” Tony whined some twenty minutes later. “Like _reeeally_ bored.”

“Shut up, Stark,” Loki muttered.

“Come on, it's not the next War and Peace, you know? It's just a list. A teeny tiny list of my character... imperfections.”

“And you think that is a _tiny_ list, Stark?” Loki smirked. “I think I am going to need another piece of paper, actually...”

“Shut up, Princess, or I'm adding 'insufferable prick' on my list.”

“Well, first, it's not there already? You are hurting my feelings, Stark. Second, go ahead, it's on my list anyway. And third, 'insufferable prick' isn't an actual character trait, it only means that _you_ see me as an insufferable prick, which doesn't mean that I am one.”

“But you are!”

“That is not the point, Stark.”

“Right. As you wish. Insufferable... prick...”

“I think I should add 'childish', too.”

“Vengeful...”

“I'm sorry, are you talking about me or about yourself?”

“Easily offended...”

“I thought that you were finished with your list, Stark...”

 

Steve picked up two pieces of paper from the kitchen counter and eyed them suspiciously.

“Jarvis? What is this?” he frowned when he recognized (or at least thought he did) the messy handwriting on one of the pages.

“Mr. Stark and Mr. Liesmith accidentally met in the kitchen last night, sir,” came the AI's prompt response.

“And both of them survived?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And these...” he raised the two pieces of paper.

Of course that the extremely neat handwriting belonged to Loki. Who else, really?

“Mr. Liesmith offered to make a list of Mr. Stark's character flaws, and Mr. Stark offered to do the same for Mr. Liesmith.”

“Oh. I see,” Steve nodded and scanned the lists quickly. “Jarvis... Did they actually compare those lists?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And did they realize the only real difference between them is Loki's posh language? I mean... Arrogant, check. Stupid sense of humor, check. Daddy issues, check. Even if I don't know how the hell Loki knows _that_ about Tony. Narcissistic, check. Egoistic, check. Oh, there's another difference, ' _idiotic nicknames_ ' on Loki's list. But apart from that... ”

“They did realize that, sir. They agreed to never mention it again.”

“Wait, they _agreed_ on something? Wow.”

“Wow indeed, sir.”

Steve eyed the two pieces of paper for one last time before scrunching them up and throwing them into the garbage can.

“We're not gonna mention it, either, understood, Jarvis?”

“Of course, sir.”

Steve nodded and opened the fridge. Five minutes later, he was already making pancakes while whistling some tune from the forties.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And once again, thank you so much for all your comments. I am sorry this chapter took a little longer, but real life got in the way and I kind of forgot to post this sooner. I have two more chapters in stock and I'm probably going to write a few more, although I should probably be concentrating on my last essay I've been putting off for the past three weeks... :D


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If Tony behaves like a five-year-old, he's going to be treated like a five-year-old. The same applies to Loki. Also, Natasha has an announcement which will turn the life in Avengers Tower upside down, even if only for a few days.

Tony and Loki managed to avoid each other for the next two weeks. Their motivation was clear – neither of them wanted to risk the other would address the topic of them being evidently very similar.

This wasn't exactly a peace the inhabitants of the Avengers Tower would have preferred, but it was still generally viewed as a kind of a blessing. Everything was better than the god and the inventor fighting openly.

Unfortunately, two weeks later, they were brought together against their will, because, as Natasha said-

“No, Tony, I am not gonna say it twice just because you two don't want to be in the same room!”

“I could just watch the security footage,” Tony muttered. “Jarvis?”

“No! You're gonna stay right here, do you hear me? Don't move an _inch_ or I'm gonna cut your legs off.”

“Nat, this might be a very personal question-”

“If you're going to ask what I think you're going to ask...”

“-but have you had your coffee today? And in case the answer is 'no', would you like some?”

“Where from? Your workshop?”

“Preferably.”

“Don't you dare moving, Stark.”

There came a soft ding of an elevator, the sound of the door opening...

And then someone, certain someone, cleared his throat right behind Tony.

“You are standing in my way, Stark.”

“Sorry, Space Princess, Natasha's orders. She said 'don't move an inch', so I am actually-”

“For goodness sake, _Tony_!” Natasha rolled her eyes. “Are you five? Just come in, sit down and shut up!”

“Yes, mum.”

“And stop showing off in front of Loki!”

“But _muuum_!”

“You are doing this just because I asked you if you were five, are you not?”

“Maybe. What are you gonna do, spank me?”

“That's it, Tony. No ice-cream for you after dinner tonight.”

“But if you insist on the spanking,” Loki smirked, “I could do it.”

“Oh, you'd like to teach me a lesson, Princess? I don't think that's gonna happen.”

“Jarvis?” said Natasha. “Please, tell me Clint's on his way...”

 

When all the Avengers gathered (although Tony would insist on the term 'assembled') in the common living room, Natasha stood in front of them all.

“Just for the record, the first person to ask if me and Clint are getting married is going to regret ever learning to speak. Yes, Tony? I see that you probably wanted to say something.”

“Me? No, never. In fact, I have just forgotten how to use my mouth.”

“It's simple, Stark. You close it and keep it that way,” Loki smirked.

“Does the same apply to you, Princess?”

“It applies to both of you. Be _quiet_ ,” said Natasha. “We wanted to talk to you because Fury called and we, that means me and Clint, are going on a mission.”

“What? When?” Steve blinked. “Why didn't anybody tell me?”

“I am telling you now,” she said.

“What if there's an attack?” asked Tony.

“Oh, come on,” said Clint from his spot on the armchair right next to Natasha. “You can deal with it without us.”

“What sort of mission?” asked Bruce.

“Top secret, sorry.”

“Dangerous?” Steve wanted to know.

“I don't think so,” said Natasha. “Just undercover, really, but that's all I can tell you.”

“But Clint... I haven't finished my...”

“I'm gonna be fine, Tony,” Clint smiled. “We're counting on it. That's why it's undercover. I'm just some pretty ordinary deaf guy. In fact, we're thinking of it as an advantage, because how could a deaf guy be dangerous, eh? Except he can. And his girl even more so. Ouch! Yeah, I know, you don't like being called my girl...”

“Exactly,” she nodded. “Guys, we really just wanted to let you all know without repeating ourselves a hundred times. You don't need to worry about us. It shouldn't take more than a couple of days. I have to admit I am more worried about the state of the Tower when we get back than about myself or Clint.”

“Princess? Do you think she's talking about us?” Tony stage whispered.

“No, Stark. She was obviously talking about my brother's grudge against the microwave and his habit of warming the food with lightning.”

“Loki! Nobody is supposed to know that!” Thor gulped. “I-I mean... My brother is definitely not telling the truth, friends!”

“This is exactly why we can't have a serious conversation here,” Natasha sighed. “I swear I'm going to have a headache.”

“Tony, Loki, calm down,” Bruce said. “If you are going to be like this after every time you spend a few days without each other, we'll have to start locking you in the same room for at least a few minutes a day. Even if it means repairing Stark-shaped holes in the wall from time to time.”

“Walls? You'd have to sweep him off the floor.”

“Loki...” Bruce sighed.

“Shush, or Greenie is sweeping the floor with _you_ , sweetheart. Again.”

“Tony!”

“Shutting up!”

“Good boys,” Bruce smiled. “When are you leaving, Natasha?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Isn't it too soon?” Steve frowned. “No, sorry, you know what you are doing, of course. Just take care, okay?”

“Don't worry, Cap. We are going to be just fine.”

 

The assassins didn't tell anyone that they were leaving before the sunrise. Going on missions without telling anyone the exact time was one of Natasha's slightly paranoid habits, but Clint knew better than to try to remind her that they are among friends and don't need to hide their plans. He just packed his bag and kept quiet in front of everyone.

They didn't expect to run into anyone before dawn, so it was quite a shock for both of them when they got off the elevator in the garage, only to find a certain god of mischief casually leaning against the very car they had planned to use.

“Loki?” Clint blinked. “What the hell...”

The god made a slight movement with his fingers. Nothing seemed to happen.

“You have already said your goodbyes,” he said and his words formed in the air right in front of Clint's face, written in green letters.

“Those are not the subtitles Tony promised me, are they?” Clint smirked.

“No, these are mine,” Loki smiled. “I designed the spell only a few hours ago. It seemed useful.”

“It is. Wow. Does it work-”

“Only for this conversation, I am afraid.”

“What do you want, Loki?” Natasha asked. “Sorry, but we need to leave.”

“I only wanted to wish you good luck,” said Loki. “I didn't have the chance to do it last night.”

“Because you fell asleep with your head on Thor's shoulder, yeah,” Clint nodded.

“That was unfortunate,” Loki nodded. “But I wanted to say goodbye. And... give you this.”

Natasha frowned when the god opened his palm and revealed two simple pendants, silver, with a black stone in the middle.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Amulets, of course. With a small amount of protective magic inside. But most importantly, if you get in trouble, just press the stone for several seconds, it will send... a distress signal to me. And I will come to your aid.”

“You think that we can't take care of ourselves?” Natasha asked and raised one eyebrow.

“No. No, of course not,” Loki shook his head. “I am sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, I just... I have a very strange feeling about the next few days and I would feel better if you took these. Please?”

“All right,” Natasha nodded and took the pendants. “If you ask so nicely... Thank you.”

“Yeah, thanks, Loki. Take care while we're away. Don't kill Tony.”

“I will try,” Loki smiled. “But I cannot make any promises.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to once again thank you for all your wonderful comments. They really do keep me going and wanting to write more and more. :) But I must say I'm a little afraid that this fic might become longer than I have expected to be, new ideas seem to be popping out of nowhere andthe worst thing is... I don't really mind at all. :D


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint and Natasha are on a mission. Then Cap leaves, too. The only people who can prevent Tony and Loki from killing each other are Bruce and Thor. What could possibly go wrong?

Roughly seven hours later, there was a knock on the glass door of Tony's workshop. The inventor raised his eyes from the project and blinked, clearly surprised, when he saw Steve standing there with a travel bag in his hand.

“Uhm... Jarvis, let him in,” Tony muttered.

The door opened and Steve took a few steps forwards.

“Natasha called,” he announced.

“Assemble?” asked Tony.

“No, everything's fine. Almost fine. She just said that they might need someone to have their backs, so I said I'll go. I'm leaving, well, now. And I'm taking the other car.”

“And you're telling me because...”

“Because Bruce went for a walk and it's much faster to tell you than Thor. Also, you're in charge while I am away.”

“Are you sure that's wise, Cap?”

“No, but I'm kind of low on options. And just so we're clear, being in charge doesn't make you entitled to kill Loki.”

“Damn.”

“I will be back in a few days. Take care.”

“Yeah, you too. Bye.”

The door slid closed and Tony went back to his work.

 

He spent a whole day in the workshop and left it in the evening just because Bruce almost begged him to go and eat something. Tony didn't really understand why he had to leave the workshop for that, but he didn't mind all that much.

His project for Clint was going from bad to worse, at the moment dancing on a thin line between ' _ it could work if only _ ...' and ' _ don't mention that shitty idea ever again _ ', unfortunately closer to the latter than the former. So Tony took the opportunity to ignore it for one evening and distract himself with the company of his team.

Well, what was left of it.

The first disillusion came when Loki walked into the common living room with Thor, dressed in black jeans and tight white shirt which had no right to look that bloody good.

_ Distraction _ , thought Tony.  _ It's still better to put up with that little shit than it is to be alone downstairs. _

The second disillusion came when Bruce excused himself about half an hour into the movie they all were watching and went to bed.

The third came when, about another thirty minutes later, Thor fell asleep right there on the sofa and Tony was left alone with Loki.

And the fourth came when Loki unfortunately noticed his brother's snoring and turned his head to face Tony.

“We can turn it off, if you want,” he said. “I will get that oaf to his bed.”

“Have you ever tried to wake him up?” Tony frowned. “We have. It's impossible.”

“I didn't say anything about waking him up,” Loki smirked. “Trust me, Stark, I have dragged his unconscious body to bed enough times to know what I am doing.”

“You... How? He is... And you are...”

“Magic,” Loki grinned. “Well, I admit that I have never actually _dragged_ him into his bed, I just... teleported him there. Let's hope I will not send him back to Asgard, just out of habit.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you're kind of crazy?”

“Today?” smirked Loki.

“J, be a darling and turn the movie off,” Tony sighed. “Alright, Princess, get your big bro to bed. And I really hope there's not some kinky sort of brotherly love going on, because I'm not sure I could survive that. Oh, that's it. One drink too many. Sorry.”

“Has anyone ever told _you_ that _you_ are crazy?” asked Loki.

“Today?”

Loki got to his feet and stretched in a way which made his shirt ride up. Tony cleared his throat.

“You know you're not supposed to wear this at home, right?” he asked.

“Excuse me?” Loki frowned, arms right above his head. “What am I supposed to wear?”

“Uhm, T-shirts?”

“What's wrong with wearing a regular shirt?” Loki blinked.

“It's, you know... It's too formal,” Tony tried. “And if it's white, it can get dirty pretty easily and are you gonna be the one to wash it?”

“Yes? With magic?”

“What if you drop a slice of pizza on it? Or... blueberry pie, or what if some idiot spills his coffee on you?”

“I will just have to keep my distance from you, so you don't have a chance to spill your coffee on me. Not that I would care. Magic.”

“You do realize that we have a washer, don't you? Two of them, actually. And if you're very nice to Bruce, he will probably show you how to operate it, and _maybe_ even wash your clothes for you. Or Steve will. Or Nat. But Steve is definitely the best choice.”

“Thank you, Stark, me and my magic are just fine,” Loki rolled his eyes. “Wait. Are you telling me that Captain America washes your clothes?”

“Of course not! Bruce does,” said Tony. “Steve washes Thor's clothes.”

“Me and my magic are fine,” Loki repeated.

“Whatever you wish, Space Princess.”

“Oh, come on, Stark. Can't you stop with that stupid nickname for _one bloody day_? Even one _evening_ would be enough. You know how much I hate it-”

“That's exactly why I'm doing it,” Tony smirked. “Oh, come on, you wouldn't be mad at me for something like that, would you? Please, don't be mad at me. I know how I'd survive that, a little princess from another planet being mad at me...”

“So it is all right to call someone a nickname they hate? As you wish. _Merchant of Death_.”

Tony closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths and tried to convince his hands that they weren't shaking. He failed miserably.

“Get out,” he said, his voice quiet and cold. “Get out of this room. And tomorrow, get out of my bloody tower. Out of this planet, if possible. And out of my _life_. Because if you don't, I'm gonna fucking fly you into the space myself!”

“Oh, it isn't much fun when someone does it to you, is it?” Loki snorted. “What's wrong, _Merchant of Death_? You don't like your cute little nickname?”

“I said... Get _out_!” Tony yelled.

“Good night, then. Merchant of Death.”

Then he vanished into thin air.

“I hope you're gonna drown in your shower so I'll never have to talk to you again,” Tony muttered.

 

Five minutes after the argument with Loki, Tony decided to go to bed. He was still trembling a little and he certainly wasn't in a mood to work, so the bed sounded pretty nice. Maybe he could watch something on TV, then go to sleep?

Tony sighed when he walked out of the elevator.

“Jarvis? Am I a total dick?”

“I am afraid I cannot judge that, sir.”

“Right,” Tony murmured.

“But if I may, sir, I have done a little research. If the Asgardian culture is any similar to the Viking culture, I might have found a reason why Mr. Liesmith hates being called... a princess, sir.”

“I'm all ears, baby.”

“It would seem that there is an insult, sir, _argr_ , which is used, simply put, for a man who is considered, well, unmanly. Usually it means a man is either the passive one during homosexual intercourse-”

“You mean a _bottom_ , J? Oh, hello, Tony Argr Stark.”

“It is also used for a man who practices sorcery, sir.”

“Magic?”

“Indeed, sir.”

“But Loki... He's been practicing magic since he was a kid. Magic is a part of his fighting style. Isn't it? And with the way he looks, nowhere as muscular as Thor, with that beautiful face of his, holy shit, that means... That means he probably never heard the end of the girl jokes. Bloody hell, I am such a _dick_!”

“I am afraid you are right, sir.”

“I thought you said you can't judge that, J!”

“I'm sorry, sir.”

“But I am. I am a fucking dick. Just... Look at me. I am asking for it. I am provoking him, inviting him to snap at me and then I get all pissed off when he does. But I deserve it! God, I hate him. And I don't want to start to trust him, but... He's got a point, even if he doesn't know it. I used to be the Merchant of Death, and then Afghanistan happened, and Yinsen trusted that I can _stop_ being... what I was. And maybe, just maybe, Loki needs someone to trust him to stop being a homicidal maniac bent on taking over the world? But he's got people who trust him, Thor and Clint and Tasha...”

“Maybe he needs not to be reminded all the time, sir.”

“Maybe. Yeah,” said Tony. “All right, Jarvis, I'm going to bed. I need to talk to Loki in the morning.”

“Shall I prepare the suit, sir?”

“No, baby, I'm not gonna argue with him. I'm gonna apologize.”

“As you wish, sir.”

“You're gonna prepare the suit anyway, aren't you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to post this chapter tomorrow, but then I realized I probably won't have time, so I decided you can have it a day sooner rather than a day later. I don't think there's anyone who would complain about it. :D Think of it as a gift for all your comments and love. Thank you all so much! :)


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the morning, Tony really does apologize to Loki. But then Thor comes with some news from Asgard and... Yeah, things don't go all that good...

“Okay, J, where is our moody god?”

“The common kitchen, sir.”

“I thought I told him I want him out of my tower.”

“He asked me to tell you he would like to have some breakfast first.”

“Breakfast? What time is it anyway?”

“Eight thirty, sir. Mr. Liesmith got up two hours ago. Mr. Banner got up an hour ago, had breakfast and went for a walk. Mr. Odinson-”

“Just take me to Loki, will you?”

“Of course, sir.”

 

Tony had to admit that he was nervous when stepping out of the elevator. He became even more nervous when he saw Loki walking straight to him. And he didn't get any calmer when Loki stopped dead in his tracks and tensed when he saw the inventor.

“Stark,” he said. “I am sorry. I didn't mean to... annoy you with my presence. I was already leaving.”

“Wait,” said Tony. “Just a moment Prin... I mean, Loki.”

“Don't worry, I am going to leave your home soon. I spoke to Thor before he left for Asgard this morning and he said that perhaps we could find a flat for me. I tried to explain to him that-”

“Could you just shut up for a bit?” Tony sighed. “Right, two things. Number one, Thor left?”

“Yes. He got a message from the Allfather, it seems he was needed back home, urgently. But he should return later today,” Loki shrugged.

“Okay, so he knows about our little...”

“Yes, Stark. What is thing number two?”

“Well, this is a bit awkward. Thing number two is that you're not going anywhere.”

“Excuse me?” Loki blinked.

“Can we sit down for a while? I really don't want to discuss this... like this.”

“I am perfectly fine standing, Stark.”

“Yeah, you're always perfectly fine, Space... man. Whatever. I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being such a pain in the ass, I'm sorry for teasing you all the time and I... I'm sorry if that thing with Space Princess hurt you or offended you in any way. Look, I didn't know about the whole _argr_ shit or whatever it's called, so it has never... occurred to me that it might be a sensitive topic for you. Do I sound like an idiot?”

“You do.”

“Look, the important thing is that I'm sorry. I swear I am. And if you want to, you can stay here. Oh, yes, and... I admit I absolutely deserved what you called me last night.”

“Maybe, but I... shouldn't have done it. It's a sensitive topic for _you_. I am sorry, Stark.”

“No harm done,” Tony smiled. “Just don't do it again, Space Prin... Shit, sorry, my brain-mouth filter doesn't seem to be working.”

Before Loki had a chance to answer, the Bifrost opened outside. Only moments later, Thor came in from the balcony. And Tony supposed he wasn't the only one to notice Thor being a bit pale and clearly shaken.

“Brother?” Loki frowned. “What's wrong? Did something happen?”

“Father... I had a long argument with him, Loki. He changed his mind. He knows about the animosity between you and Man of Iron and that he... doesn't want you in his house anymore. Father ordered me to bring you back to Asgard.”

“ _What_?!”

“I said no, of course, but he-”

“Loki, what's wrong?” Tony suddenly asked.

The younger of the two gods had gone white and he was trembling, even though he tried to hide it and look proud and collected. But Tony saw his eyes, the fear there, the panic...

“Give me ten minutes,” the god said and his voice must have sounded scared even to him. “Then I will be ready to go.”

“Loki,” said Thor. “Loki, listen to me.”

But Loki was gone.

“Thor, what's going on here?” Tony demanded. “Odin wants to throw him back into the prison or what?!”

“Friend Stark-”

“ _Thor_ , if you lie to me, I swear I'm gonna find a way to kill a god!”

“We already did lie to you. When we came here and told you that Loki's magic is restrained and he will go to prison if he comes back to Asgard-”

“Yeah, I kind of noticed he wasn't restrained, so what?”

“We... lied about his sentence, too. If Loki ever comes back to Asgard, he will not go into the prison. He will be... executed. Immediately. Without a trial.”

“So if the Alldaddy wants him back, that means... Shit.”

“No. He doesn't. He did, but I made him change his mind, he-”

“So why didn't you start with that when telling Loki, for fuck's sake?! Do you realize your brother now thinks he's about to fucking _die_?!”

“As if you _care_ , Stark!” Thor yelled. “This is all your fault! The reason for this was _your_ argument with my brother just last night and _now_ you-”

“What the fuck is that?!” Tony gasped, staring at the windows.

Thor spun around and gulped.

“The universe. The stars under Asgard. The void.” The god hesitated. “Loki... Loki fell into it. But that is not possible! That must be...”

“An illusion,” said Tony. “Jarvis, is Loki on the roof?”

“He is, sir.”

“Right,” said Tony and turned to the elevator. “Thor, leave this to me. Jarvis, take me upstairs. And prepare the suit, in case our Princess gets violent.”

“Man of Iron-”

“It's Iron Man, Thor, for goodness sake!”

 

The sky over New York was dark and full of alien stars. Tony Stark tried very hard not to look at the enormous space above his head. Judging from the ragged breath he heard the moment he stepped on the roof, Loki was having a serious panic attack. Tony had some experience with those. And he knew that if he looked up...

They definitely didn't need to have two people falling apart on the same roof.

Loki was sitting at the very edge of the roof, with his back to the railing, hugging his knees and shaking violently, his eyes closed tight.

“Oh, fuck. What the hell am I supposed to do?” Tony murmured and knelt beside the god. “Loki, hey. I'm probably the last person you want to be here right now, but I'm here. Loki. _Loki_.”

He didn't dare to touch the god.

“Loki, listen to me. Loki, please. Loki, you're projecting the universe on our skies, that's not appreciated. _Loki_!”

No reaction apart from a few broken whimpers.

Tony took a quick glance up before he could stop himself. It was just as he remembered it, minus the spaceships. He could feel the horror starting to creep up his spine.

“Alright, I'm sorry for this, Princess, but there's just no other way. Would you fucking _listen to_ me?!” he yelled and slapped Loki's face as hard as he could. It was like hitting a stone wall, his palm was on fire, but it worked.

Loki was staring at him with his eyes wide open.

“Stark?” he whispered.

“Fucking finally,” said Tony. “Look at me, Space Princess. Focus. No! No looking up. Come on, listen to me. Calm down. Breathe. Just breathe. Nice, deep breaths, come on. You can do it. That's it, Princess. Listen. You're not going anywhere, do you understand? Thor is in idiot. And you are an idiot, too, because you didn't let him finish. Odin doesn't want you to come back, okay? He doesn't. He did, but Thor convinced him to let you stay. You're not going anywhere. You're not. And you're not going to die. Do you hear me?”

Loki managed a little nod.

“Stark...”

“No, don't talk, just breathe. Focus on the breathing and focus on my voice. I know you think it's annoying, but focus on being annoyed. Also, if you could stop projecting a bloody void on our skies, that would be absolutely fantastic.”

“What?” Loki blinked. “I... I... Oh, no. Oh, no.”

“Don't look up!” said Tony. “Eyes on me. On me, sweetie!”

“I... I...”

“Okay, I get it, you have the exact same phobia as I do,” the inventor sighed. “Alright, baby, I need you to straighten your legs. Let go of them... That's it. Now, you should probably know that I'm not much of a hugger, but if the situation calls for it, I'm able to make the ultimate sacrifice, so... Yeah, I know, I'm babbling, just... Come here.”

Tony sat firmly on Loki's lap and wrapped his arms around the god's shaking body.

“Just breathe. Like I do. Nice, slow, even breaths. That's it. That's it, baby...”

He felt Loki hugging him back and his breath slowing down. And he saw the sky around them getting a little lighter.

A few minutes later, Loki buried his face into the inventor's T-shirt and started to sob.

Tony just held him tight until he calmed down again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, and, uhm, I'm sorry for this chapter? But this just needed to be done. And yes, they are idiots, all three of them, I just don't know which one is the biggest...  
> As always, thank you for all your lovely comments! :)


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony helps Loki recover from his panic attack with coffee and a movie marathon. But Loki is a little confused. Why would Stark want to be nice to him all of a sudden?

Tony didn't know how much time had passed while they were on the roof, and frankly, he didn't care. The only thing that was really important was that Loki seemed to be okay when they stepped into the elevator, even if his eyes were red, his face still incredibly pale and his hair looked like it hadn't seen a comb in days.

“Thank you, Stark,” the god murmured when the elevator started to move.

“It's nothing, really,” Tony smiled. “I'm glad there are no alien stars above New York anymore and... Hey. What's that?”

“What do you mean?” Loki blinked his completely normal eyes, in a completely normal face (pale, but not _deathly_ pale) and run fingers through his perfect hair

“You look... Like nothing happened.”

“Illusion,” Loki sighed. “I will not allow Thor to see me... broken.”

“And you allowed me to see you broken? Wow.”

“I didn't have much choice, did I, Stark?”

“No. You didn't.”

The elevator stopped on the common floor.

Just before the door opened, Tony noticed that Loki was shaking again.

 

Five minutes later, Loki was sitting on the sofa in the common living room, waiting for Tony to return with an extremely big mug of coffee the inventor promised him in exchange for not fleeing into Thor's flat. Said inventor was standing in the kitchen and arguing with the coffee maker. And Thor was making sure Loki wouldn't flee after all. As for Bruce...

“Yeah, now I know why I put you in here,” Tony was saying just when Bruce walked into the room and closed the door behind him. “Stupid, that's what you are. Incredibly stupid! What do you want, Brucie?”

“Are you ready to tell me what happened?” Bruce asked. “Because, you know, ' _no comment_ ' just doesn't cut it.”

“No comment,” said Tony.

“What did he do, Tony?”

“None of your business, sorry.”

“Do you need a good old hit over the head? I mean, cognitive re-calibration.”

“You won't tell him I told you, right?”

“I promise,” Bruce nodded.

“Okay.” Tony took two big mugs of coffee and took a few steps towards Bruce. “It was a panic attack. From what I understand, he didn't mean for that little trick to happen. I think he just panicked so hard he lost control over his magic. But it was completely harmless. Now, if you're satisfied, could you open the door for me, please? I promised him coffee and The Lord of the Rings.”

“Of course,” Bruce sighed. “But Tony... careful.”

“About him? Are you insane? You have all spent the past few weeks trying to make me-”

“No. You're about to spill the coffee. And also, Lord of the Rings? I really hope you're not gonna unleash the beast.”

“I doubt that. Thor didn't like it. But I can't believe you never showed it to Loki when you were all _bonding_ with him? Those movies are classics!”

“Yeah. But no one here likes it as much as you do, Tony.”

“Which is a shame. A terrible, terrible shame...” said Tony and walked through the door. “I hope you're still here, Princess, because if I drink that much coffee, I'll probably die. Oh, and sorry for calling you a princess _again_ , it just keeps slipping off.”

“I don't care, Stark. Give me my coffee,” Loki smirked. “And I will want something to eat after my near-death experience.”

“Near-death...” Bruce blinked.

“No comment,” said Loki. “Useful sentence, really. What is that movie you promised me, Stark?”

“Oh, sweetie, there's no words t describe it. Just wait and see. But I swear, it's bloody fantastic. Jarvis? Play the Fellowship, please.”

 

Tony expected Loki to give up somewhere during the first movie. He expected the god not to like it. Why would he, even Thor wasn't a big fan of it, and he was so easy to impress.

But Loki...

Tony turned his head several times during the movie, only to see Loki with his eyes fixed on the screen, completely concentrated, his coffee only half finished and then completely forgotten.

After The Fellowship of the Ring ended, Thor made a quick escape, saying he was going into the gym, and Bruce didn't even bother with excuses better than 'sorry, I think I'm not in the mood for this today'.

Tony sighed, mentally prepared to turn the TV off, but Loki took a gulp of his cold coffee and turned to the inventor.

“Order something for lunch,” he said. “And show me more.”

Tony was more than happy to oblige.

 

“So, what do you say? Good? Tell me it was good. No, tell me it was _great_. I know you want to. Please, tell me it was great,” said Tony when the credits of The Return of the King started and he turned to Loki, a large grin on his face.

“It was absolutely stunning, Stark,” Loki nodded.

“Then why are you looking like someone stole your puppy? Oh, come on, you got a little teary-eyed at the end, didn't you?”

“Maybe a little,” Loki sighed. “I am just thinking... Why, Stark?”

“Why what?” Tony blinked.

“Why did you show me something you love. Why did you hug me on the roof. Why did you come to the roof in the first place.”

“Oh. Do I have to answer them in that order?”

“Will you answer them at all?”

“Yes, I will,” said Tony and turned his whole body, so he was facing Loki without straining his neck. “Well, I went there because you were clearly scared and I know what it's like to be so fucking scared. Thor doesn't. Also, the sky looked like one of the things which scare _me_ to death, so I had to concentrate on something else in order to not have a panic attack myself. I hugged you because even though I might not like you and I might not trust you, you looked so... So freaking lost and scared that I had to do something, _anything_... And I remembered how when I have a panic attack sometimes, the only thing I want when it's over is that someone would be there to hold me tight. So I just went for it and prayed you won't blast me all the way to Staten Island. And as for the movies... I just can't believe they haven't shown you yet, that's practically a _crime_ , you know? And... Yeah, I might not like you and I might nor trust you, as I said, but you shouldn't be alone after what you went through today. There. Happy now?”

“No.”

“What? You know what, Space Princess-”

“I am not happy, Stark, because I want you to trust me. I want you to try, even if just a little. This... animosity between us, it is so _exhausting_ , can't you feel it? And so annoying. It is also fun, yes, _sometimes_ , but when I think about how much you must hate me... And I am not saying that I don't deserve it, I do. But I wish you could stop hating me so much.”

“I don't hate you. I just don't _like_ you, Loki.”

“Are you sure? Because it feels like hate.”

“And throwing me out of the bloody window doesn't? And you can't blame me for expecting you to stab me in the back. Well, not me. All of us.”

“Do you think you could trust me if I showed you?”

“Showed me what?” Tony blinked.

“What you wanted to see. What Clint saw. What happened to me.”

“You're a terrible bastard, that's what happened.”

“Stark.”

“Will you have to go inside my head to show me?”

“No.”

“Will I notice if you do?”

“I don't have the power to control you if that is what you fear. I swear, Stark. I could make you tell only the truth, yes, but that is as close to mind control as I can get. And yes, you would notice.”

Tony bit his lower lip and really tried to tell his brain that this was a very bad idea. A truly terrible idea. The worst idea ever. But...

“Okay. Do it.”

Loki nodded and raised his hands to touch Tony's temples with his fingers.

“It might be a little unpleasant,” he warned.

Then Tony's mind was flooded with images.

 

_He was falling from a bridge, all hope gone from his heart. He heard a scream and he was sure it was Thor's voice. He saw the universe all around him, dark and vast and terrifying. He was falling. And falling. And falling._

 

_Then he was caught. And he was offered unlimited power in exchange for one little world._

“ _No,” he said. “I don't want power. I just want to die.”_

 

_He was starving in the darkness. He felt his body getting thinner with every day and every repeated offer._

_It didn't change his answer._

 

_He was still in his dark prison, but it was getting hot, so terribly hot. He could feel heat radiating from the walls itself. He was sweating and shaking._

“ _Will you cooperate now, Your Highness?”_

“ _Why don't you just kill me? It would save you so much trouble...”_

 

_He was screaming, screaming from all the heat. It felt like it was melting the flesh off his bones and making his blood boil in his veins. It was hell._

“ _Imagine you could make all the pain disappear. Just one word, Your Highness. Are you trying to protect the world your_ brother _loves?”_

“ _He's not my brother.”_

“ _One word, Your Highness. One word and that world can be yours to rule.”_

“ _I don't... I don't want...”_

“ _But you are right, he is not your brother. It was him who threw you into the void. Can't you remember?”_

“ _No. No! It wasn't him, I let go of the spear!”_

“ _Are you sure, Your Highness?”_

 

_He wished he could go back into the darkness. The heat was better than this._

_Hot iron was burning his skin. Sharp blades were cutting into his muscles. His muscles were strained from pulling the ropes which held him in place._

_He was screaming with pain and they were laughing._

“ _Just one word, Your Highness. One word. He deserves it for throwing you into the abyss...”_

“ _No,” he croaked. “No.”_

“ _Would you like to see him here, then? What about your mother? Would you like to hear her scream?”_

“ _No!”_

“ _Will you help us then? Think about the power. Just think about what could be yours...”_

“ _Yes,” he whispered. “Yes. I... I will help you.”_

 

_ The scepter. The cube. All that power. He felt it in his veins. He was drunk. He was burning. His mind was on fire. He could do anything. Nothing will stand in his way.  _ They _ will not, those puny mortals, so arrogant, yet so weak. He will destroy them all, make Thor watch and then kill him, slice his throat, stab him with the scepter... _

_He will not fail. He cannot fail. If he does, he will wish he died._

 

_And then it was gone. The burning stopped. All that was left was pain in his broken limbs and the smirk of the beast ringing in his ears._

_And then the mortals came for him and he knew he failed. And he wasn't dead._

 

Tony gasped for breath and stared, wide-eyed, at Loki.

“You... You have got to be kidding,” he breathed out. “Please, tell me that wasn't real!”

“And will you believe me?” Loki sighed. “And those were only fragments of it. Weeks, months... Years. I don't know. I cannot show you everything.”

“Holy shit. Holy _shit_ , Loki...”

“I don't expect you to start trusting me now, but... Well, at least I tried.”

“Princess-”

“And now I would like to be alone.”

“No. Over my dead body. Jarvis? Find us something to watch. And you will stay right here, do you understand? You can't be alone after what you just-”

“Oh, but I can, Stark.”

And then he simply wasn't there anymore.

“I hate it when you do that, you little bitch,” Tony muttered. “J?”

“Mr. Liesmith is in his bedroom and does not wish to be disturbed, sir.”

“Fantastic. Oh, fuck, J... Find _me_ something to watch. I don't want to think about this. I don't want to think about this. Holy shit, I so don't want to think about this...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the longest chapter this fic will ever have. I know, but I really suck at writing long chapters. Maybe the length will make up for what's going on in it. Once again, I'm sorry, but some things just need to be done. I swear it's going to become a bit more light-hearted the next time!  
> And as always, thank you all for your lovely comments. :)


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is still trying to absorb what happened to Loki, which leads to another of their chats in the kitchen. Also, he refuses to leave the god alone. Call it a savior complex if you want...

The next morning at exactly 5:35 AM Tony walked into the kitchen, only to find Loki sitting at the table and staring straight ahead with an absolutely blank expression on his face. When the god didn't acknowledge his presence at all, the billionaire took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

Loki started and turned his head so fast it must have hurt.

“Stark!” he gasped. “You cannot sneak up on me like this!”

“I thought no one can sneak up on you?” said Tony and walked straight to the coffee machine. “One question, Princess. Did you get any sleep last night?”

“What do you think?” Loki sighed and run his fingers through his hair. “I didn't blink an eye.”

“I told you you can't be alone after those memories.”

“Stark...”

“Don't _Stark_ me all the time. I'm not calling you Space Princess anymore.”

“Of course you do,” Loki frowned. “You called me Princess just about a minute ago! And several times yesterday.”

“Did I? Oh, shit,” Tony bit his lower lip. “It must keep slipping out.”

“And besides, how would you like me to call you? You hate your own name.”

“Excuse me? I don't! I like Tony. Coffee?”

“Yes, _please_ ,” Loki moaned. “And yes, you like _Tony_ , but that's not your name. Your name is Anthony.”

“Don't you _dare_ calling me that.”

“See? I will keep using Stark, thank you. Or I can call you the Man of Iron.”

“I'd prefer Anthony over Man of Iron,” Tony smirked and placed two giant coffee mugs on the table, then sat down next to Loki. “There. We should probably eat something, too, but I haven't felt hungry since yesterday, so...”

Only then did Loki have a chance to study his face. He blinked when he noticed the exhausted expression in the inventor's eyes and the dark circles around them, the ashen color of his skin and his unkempt beard.

“Stark,” he whispered. “Did _you_ get any sleep?”

“Of course I fucking didn't,” Tony muttered. “What do you think? Do you realize _what_ was it that you showed me? They tortured you, for fuck's sake, they... They tortured you! And in the end, you didn't give up because of that, but because it would save your _mum_! And you... You wanted to die, you didn't want to win, you just wanted to fucking _die_ , you wanted us to _fucking kill you_ and-”

“If you use the word _fuck_ one more time, I am going to seal your lips shut,” said Loki.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, _fuck_!” Tony smirked. “But really, you... you show me all of that, so much _pain_ , and then you expect me to... fall asleep, just like that? No, Princess. Just no. Oh, shit, I did it again. Sorry, I... I don't know why I keep calling you that.”

“It's okay,” Loki sighed. “If you don't want to hurt me by saying it... I don't really mind it that much.”

Tony placed his hand on Loki's shoulder and squeezed slightly. The god closed his eyes.

“You know, you really look like shit.”

“I feel like shit,” said Loki. “And you don't look your best, either.”

“I'm sorry. I'm sorry for... being such an asshole to you. I didn't know what you've been through, but believe me, if I did-”

“I don't want your pity. I don't... I don't want you to start being nice to me just because you think you _should_. I just wanted you to know... I wanted you to know I didn't attack your planet just because I was bored or wanted power. But I must also tell you that I did not refuse them because I am a good person and didn't _want_ to attack your planet. I am not a good man. I have done many terrible things. I am envious, I get angry easily, I doubt myself all the time, I _hate_ myself. I am stubborn and-”

“Hey. I know. We've been through the list of our character flaws, haven't we?”

“Stark, I didn't refuse because I didn't want the power.”

“You were depressed. Suicidal.”

“Yes, but I was still a prince of Asgard. I was proud. Why would I serve someone? Why would I become someone's lapdog?”

“You let them torture you because you were _proud_? No, Princess, I'm not buying that.”

“I hoped that if I bear it for long enough, they will give up and let me die.”

“That's more like it, sweetie,” Tony murmured as he saw tears rolling down Loki's face. “Hey, you know what? I'm not a good man, either. I have made some terrible mistakes, too. Everyone did, probably even Captain Tight Pants. Let's... just forget it, okay? Let's start from scratch, can we? Hi, I'm Tony Stark, genius, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist, Iron Man. And you are...”

“Loki, a sorcerer, a prince of Asgard, the god of lies and mischief, a would-be conqueror of your world. Oh, and the adoptive brother of Thor.”

“Fine. Nice to meet you, Loki. Would you like a drink?” Tony smirked.

“I already have coffee, thank you,” Loki smiled.

“Fabulous. Hey, what would you say if I made us some waffles for breakfast? And 'I'm not really hungry' doesn't count as an answer.”

“But I-”

“I'm gonna make waffles. You're gonna eat waffles. End of the story. And then we're gonna go to my workshop and you're gonna sit there and talk to me while I work.”

“You will let me into your workshop?” Loki blinked. “Stark...”

“You think I'll leave you alone right now? Hell no, Lokes. And don't say you don't want my pity, because this isn't pity, it's... It's not pity, okay? So just shut up and wait for your waffles like a good princess.”

 

Tony placed a pair of glasses in front of Loki.

“Just so you know, this is not a reason I brought you down here, but since you're here, you could make yourself useful a little.”

“Useful?” Loki blinked.

“Put these on,” said Tony.

Loki complied and flinched when the lenses flickered.

“What now?” he asked. His words formed in front of his eyes. “Oh. Clint's subtitles.”

“Exactly. Look, I need you to tell me one thing. Are they distracting or not?”

“What do you exactly mean by _distracting_?”

“Could you concentrate on shooting arrows with words flashing in front of your eyes? You know, I'm _used to_ having readings all around me when I'm in my suit, I have similar glasses for when I work on something and need to have data all the time, but I _still_ find this terribly distracting. I have tried everything, smaller font, completely different font, several levels of transparency... It just _doesn't work_.”

“You are completely right,” Loki murmured. “Terribly distracting.”

“Right. That's not what I wanted to hear.”

“And I think it might give me a headache pretty soon.”

“Even better,” Tony sighed. “Okay, you can take them off.”

“Anthony...”

“No. It's okay. Jarvis? Blueprints.”

A small hologram appeared in the air between Tony and Loki. The inventor grabbed it, scrunched it up and threw it against the nearest wall.

“Fine. To hell with that shit,” he said. “J, baby, play some Doctor Who for me. And we're gonna work on upgrading the suit. Show me the latest blueprints.”

“And what am I supposed to do here?” Loki frowned.

“I don't know. Sit there, watch and look nice.”

“Oh, well. I suppose it's till better than being alone...”

 

Half an hour later, Tony was really close to attempting to strangle the incredibly curious Norse god.

The last thirty minutes of the show had been an almost constant stream of questions.

“ _So the box is a spaceship?”_

“ _Isn't it impossible for it to be bigger on the inside?”_

“ _Didn't you say it wasn't a real phone box?”_

“ _Why is the child looking for its mother?”_

“ _What do they mean with_ empty _?”_

“ _An invisible spaceship, really?”_

“ _What kind of a name it is anyway. The Doctor? Doctor who?”_

“Loki!” Tony moaned. “Can't you just keep quiet and _watch_? Half of your questions were answered while you were _talking_ , the second half will be answered soon and the third half would take way too long to explain!”

“Stark?” said Loki and the corner of his lips twitched a little. “Do you realize-”

“One more question and you're gonna be the one to take a quick trip down the building this time!”

“Hmpf,” said Loki.

“Good boy.”

 

“What is the thing on his wrist?”

“ _Loki_!”

“No, Stark, seriously,” Loki frowned and focused on the big screen on the wall. “That... the one in the coat has something on his wrist. What is it?”

“A vortex manipulator,” Tony answered. “It, as the name suggests, manipulates the time vortex. Allows you to travel in time. No, I can't build it. Maybe in the future it could be possible, but-”

“It's a wristband with some technology in it.”

“Uhm, basically?”

“Stark. Could you... Those holograms of yours, you can make them in any size you want, right? Could you put the technology inside a wristband, so it would... pop up for example when you tap the wristband?”

“Get me a wristband and you're gonna have it in under an hour.”

“And the technology for Barton's glasses, the one which translates the spoken words into a text, could you fit it in there, too?”

“You mean...” Tony's eyes widened.

“I know it's not exactly... subtitles,” said Loki. “But it is way better than the tablet. He wouldn't have to hold it in his hand-”

“He could hide the messages if he wanted to. He could read them when there's enough time. They won't be distracting like that. There can be some signal for a new message, like... vibrations or a LED light or... Oh, holy shit, Space Princess!” Tony grinned. “You are a fucking _genius_!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you very much for all your comments. :) I can promise you two more chapters in the next few days, but then the story might slow down a little. You know, real life, summer plans and stuff. I should also concentrate on my "real" writing for a bit, probably. But I swear I will try to write this story whenever I have the time. ;)


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Loki are still in the workshop, and they still haven't killed each other. Nobody bothered to tell Thor where his brother is. Or what he calls himself. And Bruce becomes a little bit suspicious...

“Okay, I've got a plan, sweetie,” said Tony after about ten minutes of moving holographic parts around. “Everything I need now is that wristband.. Jarvis, could you try to find something _stylish_ online? And some matching leather. Maybe purple? You know Clint likes that combination. Or you know what? Maybe I should start from scratch. So, I'm gonna need black leather and-”

“Here. Have this,” Loki muttered. He waved his fingers and the next second, a black leather wristband appeared on his palm. “And don't talk. I'm trying to watch... What is it called, again?”

“Doctor Who,” Tony smiled and took the wristband. “Oh, but this is lovely. Where did you get it? And are those... runes on it?”

“Yes, they are.”

“Why?”

“Oh, it's one of mine,” said Loki.

“ _What_?”

“Jarvis, pause, please,” Loki sighed. “What, my dearest Anthony? It's one of my old wristbands. I wore them... I don't know, a century or two ago?”

“Oh, aren't you our little vain princess?” Tony grinned. “I bet it looks great on your wrist, though.”

“I used them mostly for my training sessions. They can be pretty useful,” said Loki. “And... You know, you are completely right. I am a vain princess. Even when I was training, I wanted to look as good as possible. You know that in the past, I even plucked my eyebrows? But that Loki... That Loki died.”

“And a new, drama queen one was born. Nice,” Tony smirked.

“Careful, my dearest Anthony. You don't want to have to replace another window.”

“Careful, my little Space Princess, or I'm not making you another coffee.”

“You will keep calling me Princess if I keep calling you Anthony?”

“Yep,” Tony nodded.

“All right. Anthony.”

“Oh, you little piece of shit,” Tony laughed. “Okay, but... I mean, I don't know anything about archery, but won't this be getting in the way or something?”

“It's fine. I wore those wristbands during my archery training, too.”

“Archery? Are you telling me... You know how to shoot with a bow?”

“I am a prince, Stark. Of course I do. I have received a proper training with many weapons. But I must admit that I prefer a crossbow. And I am a better archer than Thor is. I am also a much better swordsman. I love my brother, but let's be honest, his biggest talent is hitting things with a hammer. I am a fan of much... subtler methods.”

“Like?”

“Daggers,” Loki smiled. “I just love daggers. That's one of the things those wristbands are really useful for, hiding a small, but very sharp blade which your opponent doesn't expect at all...”

“Because you are a sneaky bastard, I get it.”

“Exactly, Stark.”

“So... You don't mind if I keep this, then?” asked Tony and pointed to the wristband. “I just hope I won't ruin it, because it's... beautiful.”

“What do you need to do with it?”

“Basically, I'm gonna need to add a pocket or something to place the tech into. But I can't do it until I have the leather, obviously-”

“Give it to me and tell me exactly what you want it to look like.”

“What?”

“Magic, Stark,” Loki grinned. “Just tell me and I'll make it happen.”

“There are at least twenty reasons why that's not possible.”

“My dear Anthony, I would like to go back to watching the show. So could you hurry up a little?”

“Right,” Tony nodded. “So, I was thinking about...”

 

At the same time, several floors up, Thor walked into the common living room with a very concerned look on his face.

“Oh, good morning, Thor,” said Bruce from the sofa. “Would you like a breakfast?”

“No, thank you,” Thor muttered with a shook of his head. “Bruce, have you seen Loki today? He wasn't in his room when I woke up and he is still nowhere to be found.”

“Have you tried looking in the gym? I think he's been training with Nat for the past few weeks, maybe he-”

“I have tried looking everywhere. I am afraid my brother has gone missing, my friend.”

“Oh, damn... What about the roof? He was there with Tony yesterday, wasn't he?”

“I have already controlled the roof.”

Bruce nodded and tried not to panic. There had to be an explanation. Maybe Loki just doesn't want to be found? Maybe... Maybe...

“Jarvis, where is Tony?” Bruce asked.

“In his workshop, sir. Mr. Liesmith is with him.”

“Who?” Thor blinked.

“That would be your little brother,” Bruce sighed. “You didn't think about asking Jarvis, right?”

“I... No. I am sorry.”

“That's okay,” said Bruce and got to his feet. “Sorry, I have to check if they're not designing something that could possibly blow up the whole city. You never know with Tony, and if he's with Loki... I'd rather have them under control.”

“Yes. Yes, of course,” Thor nodded.

“I'll see you later,” said Bruce and quickly retreated to the elevator.

“Yes. But why...” Thor frowned. “Why does my brother call himself Liesmith?”

 

When Bruce got to the workshop, he saw Tony and Loki leaning over the table.

“No, Stark,” Loki was just saying. “This is all wrong. It looks terrible!”

“Yeah, but it will work, Princess. Your solution won't.”

“Stark, you are completely ruining _my_ wristband!”

“Oh, no, baby, we've already established that it's _Clint's_ wristband now.”

“Don't call me baby, or I will change you into one, _my dearest Anthony_.”

“Oh, sweetie, you're so cute when you're mad at me.”

“You must have a death wish.”

“Shall I go and stand in front of the window?”

“Oh, yes, please. But first, could you do this _my_ way?”

“I am telling you that _won't work_.”

“You have already said that, but could you at least _try_?!”

“Nope, because I am an engineer, I don't have to try it, I _know_ that... Oh, hi, Brucie. You wanted something?”

“What the hell is going on here?” asked Bruce.

“Nothing. We're working on my new project for Clint,” Tony shrugged.

“And I missed the ending of the episode with the poor child.”

“I told you we can watch it again when I'm done with this. Also, poor child? That kid is super scary!”

“No, he is not. I feel terribly sorry for him.”

“You feel _sorry_. That means you have _feelings_. Wow.”

“Loki, your brother is looking for you,” Bruce said. “He's in the common living room.”

“Is it urgent? I would like to finish this first and-”

“I think it is, Loki.”

The god simply nodded.

“Okay, then.”

“What? Wait!” said Tony. “I need your help here!”

“I am sure you will manage without me, Stark. Come to me when you have time to watch the episode.”

“Both, Lokes, you need to watch both of them,” Tony grinned. “Right, go to your bro. I'll see you later.”

“See you later, Stark. Bruce.”

To Tony's surprise, the god didn't vanish, but used the elevator instead. To Tony's even bigger surprise, the moment Loki was gone, Bruce folded his arms over his chest and frowned.

“So what exactly is going on, Tony?”

“I have no idea what you're talking about,” said the inventor.

“Oh, yes, you do. You have spent weeks being suspicious, never trusting Loki, telling _us_ not to trust him and now, suddenly, literally overnight, you become best friends forever? And you are joking and almost _flirting_. Sorry, Tony, I'm afraid not it's my turn to be suspicious.”

“My eyes are their usual pretty brown, aren't they?”

“You're not funny.”

“I beg to differ.”

“You have to admit that it's very, very weird.”

“It is,” Tony nodded. “Okay, listen to me. Don't worry about me. There's no mind control going on. It's just I've had... Well, I guess you could call it an epiphany. I... I learned something about Loki's past before the invasion and I... I realized that we're not entirely different, him and me. We've got some... common experiences. And I... I don't know. At first, I didn't want to leave him alone, because he was a mess after yesterday. But then... It just happened, I guess. We started to talk, and we started to argue, but not the same way as before. And it's such a fun to tease him, and it's fun when he teases me back, because he's so quick and witty, you know? By the way, has he ever told you anything about Asgard? Because he told me about his training with weapons and... I don't know. I realized he probably really wants to be friends. I know, I _know._ I admit I was a dick. I admit he didn't deserve it. I admit he is not as annoying as I have thought. I admit I might even start liking him. I don't know. I just know... I want to talk to him, okay? I honestly want to _try_ to like him. That's all. Happy now?”

“That's just you, isn't it? From one extreme to another. Superhostile to superfriendly.”

“Yeah, that's Tony Stark for you. Also, I'm not sure I know how to be friendly without teasing. But for the record, we're definitely _not_ flirting.”

“If you say so... But Tony, when you said common experiences-”

“You know that I can't tell you. So please, don't ask me again,” Tony sighed and only then realized that he'd been fidgeting with the wristband during his whole speech, and that he arranged the components in the way that _Loki_ had suggested, the way that looked good but just couldn't work. But he still decided to tap the switch. The hologram popped up immediately.

“Engineer, eh?” Bruce smirked.

“That little space bitch. He's got no right to be right about these things. Oh, just kill me...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I repeating myself too much when I thank you for your comments under every chapter? Well, never mind that, I just want you to know how grateful I am. Thank you so much. :)  
> If nothing goes wrong, there should be two more chapters by Tuesday, and then the story will go on a little hiatus (and I am going to go on a little holiday). I just wanted to tell you in advance. ;)


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Thor have a very important talk. And Loki decides to give Thor some information the blonde might not take well. And this time when Loki feels bad, Tony refuses to let him escape...

“You were looking for me, Thor?” Loki sighed when he saw his brother in the living room. “I hope it is important. Because me and Stark were in the middle of something.”

“I... I didn't wish to speak to you, Loki,” Thor blinked, clearly confused. “I merely wanted to know where you are.”

“Oh. Bruce said... Never mind,” said Loki. “There has been some misunderstanding, I assume. So if you will excuse me-”

“Why does Stark's invisible servant call you _Liesmith_ , brother?”

It was Loki's turn to blink.

“What? I... I don't know. When we came here, he asked me how I wanted to be addressed, so I told him the first thing which came into my mind and didn't make me feel disgusted with myself, that's all. After all, that is what I am, isn't it? A smith of lies.”

“But it is not your _name_ , Loki!”

“It is, now.”

“Why don't you use your real name?”

“My real name,” Loki smirked. “You mean the one that makes me want to run away and hide and cry? The one that makes me hate myself even more than I already do? Do you think that I want to be reminded of who I really am? And besides, how would your friends react if they heard Jarvis calling me a different name than yours?”

“What are you talking about, Loki? Your name is Odinson.”

“You know that it's not. My real name is _Laufeyson_. You may not like it, but there is nothing you can do about it.”

“That is not your-”

“Have you managed to forget again?” asked Loki and blue color started to spread over his skin. “I am _not_ Odin's son. I am his puppet, the stolen child from Jotunheim, I am-”

“You know, I don't like the nickname Stark has given you, but he is right. You are as dramatic as a true _princess_ , brother.”

For several seconds, Loki just gaped at his brother with his mouth slightly opened, completely at loss for words. Then he burst into laughter.

“Brother?” asked Thor, carefully. “Are you...”

“I am fine. Truly _fine_ , Thor,” Loki nodded in between the giggles. “I just can't believe _you_ called me a princess!”

“I didn't call you a princess, I called you as dramatic as one, Loki.”

The younger god shook his head and his laughter slowly died.

“What is dramatic about being honest with myself?” he asked. “I am not Odin's son. He doesn't love me as a _son_. He probably hates me more than I hate him. He exiled me to Midgard. I would have been _dead_ if it weren't for you! He was ready to execute me. He was probably ready to _torture_ me.”

“Father would never-”

“Stop lying to yourself, Thor. Have you managed to forget about my sentence as well as about my real parentage? He does hate me. I might be _dead_ and he wouldn't care! Oh, no, I am sorry, he would. He would be disappointed that he didn't have a chance to swing the axe himself.”

“That is not true, Loki. You see only what you want to see.”

“And you don't? You probably still think that this exile is a part of some plan to achieve _my redemption_. But it's not. I am as redeemed as I can be. I am nice to your friends, I opened up to _Stark_ only to make him trust me, I helped him with the thing that could substitute for Clint's hearing. I am really _trying_ , Thor! I am trying harder than I ever have. And I like it here, I do, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life on _Midgard_! I want... I want to go to Asgard again, one day. So many bad things happened to me there, but... It's my home, Thor. It's my _home_.”

“I know, Loki.”

“You don't. You can go there whenever you want and they welcome you and they bow to you. You are their golden prince and I... I am nothing.”

“Don't say that, brother. One day, I will become the king. And I swear to you-”

“Please, Thor, don't. Don't swear to me. Don't give me hope.”

“But-”

Loki took a deep breath and changed back into his normal skin.

“You know what, Thor?” he said. “I showed Barton a long time ago. I showed Stark yesterday. I will never show you, but... I can tell you, if you want to know.”

“Want to know what?” asked Thor.

“What happened after my fall.”

 

Needless to say, Loki regretted his decision about five minutes later. Thor managed to keep silent when Loki told him about the starving, even though Loki could clearly hear a distant sound of thunder. But the moment Loki said the sentence “And then they tried to torture me by increasing the heat in my cell.”, well...

“But _Loki_!” Thor gaped. “You are a-”

“Thor, if you don't keep your big mouth shut, I am not going to tell you anything,” Loki sighed. “It's hard for me as it is, I don't need _you_ to tell me how fucked up the whole thing was!”

“Fucked up?” Thor blinked. “Loki, you spend too much time with Stark.”

“That's part of being nice to your friends, so I don't have to go back to Asgard and let father cut my head off,” Loki smirked.

“You called him-”

“Thor, could you just _listen_ to what I say and _be quiet_?”

“But Loki-”

“Please.”

“Yes, brother. Of course.”

“Thank you. As I was saying, the heat...”

 

Another five minutes later, there was a bright flash of lightning and a loud crack of thunder right above the Avengers Tower, followed by a sudden downpour.

“Uh-oh,” said Tony without raising his eyes from the wristband. “Blondie's mad. Jarv?”

“Mr. Liesmith is sharing... some stories from before the invasion, sir.”

“Oh. Damn,” Tony muttered. “Just what we needed. Okay, is Thor just depressed or is he ready to kill someone?”

“Just depressed, sir.”

“Good. And Lokes?”

“I would say resigned.”

“Fine. I just need a few more minutes to finish this, then I'm going there. But tell me if one of them tries to kill the other one, okay? In other words, if Loki snaps, call me.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Uhm... Tony?” said Bruce.

“Not telling you, babe.”

“But if it makes Thor so damn pissed off-”

“Yeah, the man has some pretty serious anger issues. Maybe you wanna go and make him some chamomile tea or something?”

“Which basically means 'Bruce, go there and in case any weapons appear, go green and stop those two idiots'?”

“Yeah, but try to avoid doing damage to the floor? Thanks.”

“Tony, you know I cannot promise you anything.”

“Three minutes. Try to keep them both alive for _three fucking minutes_.”

“I'll see what I can do.”

 

Two minutes and forty-seven seconds later, Tony quickly entered the common living room. The first thing he noticed was that during his short ride up, the sky outside had become perfectly clear with no sign of storms. Also, Bruce was standing right there by the elevator, while Loki was just coming in from the terrace.

“Right, I'm here. What is going on? Where... Where is Thor?”

“He went to Asgard,” said Bruce. “Shouting something about how Odin needs to know... something, I have no idea what.”

“But he is only wasting his time,” Loki muttered. “The Allfather knows. After the battle with Thanos, when they brought me back to Asgard, he didn't settle for my previous explanations that it was me who _wanted_ to take over Midgard. He restrained me, searched through my mind, found the answers he was looking for, against my will. He _knows_ , and he still sentenced me to death. Thor is a fool if he thinks he will make him change his mind.”

“Lokes, I don't want to be rude, but your father is an even bigger asshole than I've thought,” Tony sighed. “You okay?”

Loki nodded.

“I just told him. I cannot let him see. He wouldn't be able to bear the fact that he wasn't there to protect me when I needed him the most. Even this will be hard for him.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Tony nodded. “Oh, by the way, Princess, I'm done with Clint's wristband. Wanna see? And then we can go and watch that two-parter of Doctor Who again, so you know how it ends, eh? Also, you can have a whole bucket of ice-cream if you want. What do you say?”

“You don't have to do this, Stark,” Loki shook his head. “You don't have to make me feel better. I think I would rather be alone right now.”

“Don't you _dare_ vanishing on me again!” Tony growled. “I know I don't _have_ to do this. But I would like to watch it, too, and I _want_ to show you the wristband, considering it was _your_ idea. So get your skinny ass over here, sit down on it and take a look. I'm gonna grab the ice-cream. We clear?”

“My ass is definitely not _skinny_ , my dear Anthony,” Loki smirked, but took a few steps forward. “Chocolate ice-cream for me, please.”

“Whatever the Princess wants,” Tony nodded and handed him the wristband. “Bruce if you wanna run away, now's the right time.”

 

This time, they were only about twenty minutes into The Empty Child (and this time, Loki wasn't even asking all the stupid questions) when the god's whole body tensed.

“Oh, no,” he gasped. “Oh, no...”

“What? Jarvis, pause. What's going on, Princess?”

“The amulets,” said Loki. “I gave Clint and Natasha amulets to contact me with if they are in trouble. One of them was just activated.”

“Shit. I _knew_ it was going to be dangerous when they asked Cap to come, too,” Tony murmured. “Okay, Jarvis, alert Bruce. Loki... You can find them, right? Of course you can, otherwise the amulets would be useless. Oh, shit, think, Tony, _think_! Why the hell am _I_ in charge? Why the fuck did Thor have to leave _now_?”

“Stark, you are babbling.”

“Helps me think. Right, got it. Loki, workshop. Now.”

He got up, but then he felt a hand on his shoulder. The world went dark and there was a strange pressure in his head, he felt like he was spinning and falling at the same time...

And then he was standing in his workshop. He gasped for breath.

“What?” asked Loki and lifted his hand from the inventor's shoulder. “You said _now_.”

“I didn't mean it literally!”

“Your _plan_ , Stark!” Loki snapped.

“Right,” Tony nodded. “The plan...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is the part where I apologize for the cliffhanger, isn't it? Okay, I apologize. :D I promise I will post the next chapter on Monday or on Tuesday morning, so you won't have to wait for it too long. ;)  
> Also, as always, thank you very much for all your lovely comments! :)


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony's plan is not exactly a plan. And are the superspies really in that much trouble? Oh, well...

“Okay, you put this in your ear,” said Tony and handed Loki a small black earpiece. “That's a communicator. If they're somewhere in the good old USA, it should work.”

“And if they're not?” asked Loki.

“Give me your phone.”

The next second, the device appeared on Loki's palm. The inventor took it immediately.

“Are you going to give me your phone number? Stark, I'm going to blush.”

“There's a time and a place,” Tony smirked. “Here. Call me. Now, take this pin, stick it into your clothes or something. That's a tracker. I'll see the signal in the jet, so I can find you. This works everywhere in the whole wide world.”

Loki nodded and Tony watched the shimmer of green and gold light around the god. Suddenly, Loki was standing there in his armor, sans the helmet,  _ thank gods _ .

“You ready?” Tony asked.

“Yes,” said Loki and attached the pin to his sleeve. “I will let you know as soon as I can.”

“And I'll start the jet.”

Loki smiled and vanished into thin air.

 

It was only logical to use the invisibility spell. He didn't know anything about the place he was going to. He didn't know anything about the situation, only that it was dangerous, because the spies wouldn't call for him otherwise.

Or would they?

When he appeared (but didn't really appear, because of the invisibility spell), his first thought was that he  _ somehow _ ended up in Jotunheim.

Which was an entirely stupid thought, of course, It wasn't nearly as cold here, and the snow, even though it was everywhere, wasn't really deep and looked very fresh, like the first snow of an upcoming winter. And besides, there was also a river, and it wasn't frozen.

And there, on the bank, sitting on a large log, were the two superspies and one supersoldier.

“So where the hell is he?”said supersoldier asked .

“He said he'll come if we're in trouble,” Natasha sighed. “I don't know where he is, but I don't like it. It's getting dark and if he doesn't appear, we need to move somewhere safer. Maybe the amulet isn't working properly? Clint, give me yours.”

The archer raised his eyebrows and pointed to his ears.

“If you're talking to me, honey, you're kinda wasting your breath.”

“Fuck,” she cursed. -Give me your amulet,- she signed.

Loki decided that it was probably safe enough to make himself visible again.

“I said trouble,” he stated.

Steve startled so hard that he nearly fell from the log.

“Bloody hell, Loki!” he shouted. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!”

“I really doubt that would be possible,” said Loki. “Could anyone explain to me what is going on in here? Where is _here_ , anyway?”

“Russia,” Natasha murmured.

“Oh,” Loki nodded. “So I guess the communicator will be useless here.”

“Pretty much,” she confirmed. “That's why I was calling for you. We might need a lift.”

Loki handed her his phone.

“Call Stark. He will take the jet and come for us.”

“Loki?” said Clint. “I don't want to bother you or anything, but could you make that subtitles of yours again? Pretty please. I hate it when I don't know what's going on.”

“Of course. Sorry,” Loki answered and waved his fingers in the air. “Oh, and will anyone tell _me_ what is going on?”

“In a minute,” said Natasha and put Loki's phone to her ear. “Stark? No, it's me. You still haven't stopped with the Princess bullshit? We're gonna have to talk about that later. Now listen to me...”

 

“And now what?” Steve sighed when Natasha handed the phone back to Loki.

“Now we wait,” she said. “He should be here in a few hours. Bruce will stay at home and stand guard. I'm not asking where is Thor.”

“Asgard,” said Loki. “It would take a really long time to explain.”

“If we have plenty of something, it's time,” Clint muttered.

“But first, I would like to know what happened to _you_ ,” said Loki and sat down right there on the snow.

“Uhm, Loki, I don't think that's the best idea,” Clint commented. “Your ass might freeze off. Or something more important.”

“I assure you that will not happen,” Loki replied. “Back to my question. What happened? How did you three even _get_ to Russia? I was under the impression that you called Steve when you had arrived to your destination.”

“No, we called him during our initial briefing,” said Natasha. “When it became obvious we can't do this alone.”

“It is quite obvious you haven't manage to 'do this' even with Captain's help.”

“Yeah, you know, that was exactly the problem,” she smirked. “This was supposed to be an undercover mission, just get some information and go. Cap was really here just because I felt we needed some backup. Turned out on of the guys we were trying to spy on is a _big_ fan of Captain America. So much for undercover.”

“But the backup came in useful,” said Clint. “I mean... We were doing okay, for a bit. Though I don't think we'd have gotten anything out of them, anyway-”

“Speak for yourself, Barton,” Natasha muttered.

“Oh, it's Barton now? Great,” he nodded. “As I said, we were doing okay. Then that guy spotted Cap in the hotel lobby, and unfortunately for us, at least one of them was smart enough to put two and two together. We left the hotel in a bit of a hurry, jumped into the car... It's been pretty long since my last car chase, yeah.”

“Car chase,” Loki repeated.

“Unfortunately for _them_ , we have some experience with those,” said Steve. “And Clint is as good with guns as he is with bow and arrow.”

“Please note that I am not asking where are the smoking remnants of the car which was chasing you,” Loki smirked. “Although I would like to know where _your_ car is.”

“There's a river right behind us,” Natasha sighed. “Where do you think it is?”

“Oh,” Loki nodded.

“I admit it was entirely my fault,” she said. “There was ice under the snow, I went into a skid, we almost didn't manage to jump out before the car fell into the water.”

“And when we did, we realized we don't have any phone, the comms don't work and it is a pretty long way back to the town,” Steve added. “We're lucky you gave Nat and Clint those amulets.”

“I had a bad feeling, yes,” said Loki and bit his lower lip. “I am glad I could help you.”

“How about helping us by providing us with some warm jacket?” Clint suggested. “I am getting a bit cold here. And a fire would be nice, because it's really getting dark.”

“Of course.”

“And by the way, couldn't you just teleport us back home?” the archer asked when a jacket materialized out of thin air right in front of him. “Since it's apparently easy for you and-”

“No. I'm sorry,” Loki shook his head. “I will not explain why. I just can't do that.”

“Oh, well. I tried,” Clint shrugged.

“So, what was going on back home?” asked Steve. “I understand that Tony is still alive. That's good, isn't it?”

“Not if you're asking me,” Clint grinned. “Fine, I'm quiet. Loki, tell us what was going on, but please, could you keep it short? I'm not in the mood for reading too much.”

“Well... As you wish,” Loki smiled. “I had a big argument with Stark. He, figuratively speaking, threw me out of the Tower. The next day, he apologized to me, but Odin decided he wanted me to go back to Asgard. Thor talked him out of it. I had a little mental breakdown, Stark calmed me down, we watched The Lord of the Rings together, he knows about what the Chitauri did to me and we're getting along much better now. Also, we were trying to watch Doctor Who when you called for me. Oh, and he let me into his workshop and thanks to me, Clint, the project for you is complete now, even though it's not exactly as Stark had imagined.”

“Right,” the archer nodded. “Forget about keeping it short. Please, elaborate. Or just answer my questions. Question one: How much alcohol was involved?”

 

It seemed like the whole eternity had passed before they finally saw the lights of the jet in the darkness, and another eternity before it landed and opened its doors.

“Hi, babies,” Tony greeted them when they climbed in. “Would you like to stop somewhere first, or are we going right back home?”

“Right back home,” said Natasha. “And could you turn the heating on, please?”

“Of course, darling,” the inventor nodded. “Where's Loki?”

Steve turned only to find Loki still standing outside, hesitant.

“I... I can just teleport back,” the god said.

Tony stood beside Steve and smirked.

“Yeah, you definitely could, but you won't. Just shut up and hop in, Princess. You can't leave me alone with them, I'll go crazy before we're back home! And you can show Clint his new toy. Come on. Come to daddy. That's a good boy!”

“Do we need him to get back?” Loki muttered when he climbed into the jet. “Or can I change him into a frog or a _fly_ or something?”

“Change me into a fly and all I'm gonna do is fly around you and buzzzzzz.”

“As if you weren't doing that already,” Loki smirked. “Stark, if you haven't noticed, I am inside. You can take off now.”

“Yes, ma'am!” Tony saluted and got back into his seat. “By the way, feel free to enjoy the fact that this time, you're not all tied up when you're here.”

“All I can hear is your buzzing, my dearest Anthony...”

Clint, Natasha and Steve exchanged very confused looks.

-Three weeks until they fuck,- Natasha signed.

Clint only raised two fingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this probably wasn't exactly what you had expected from the trouble. But there might be more trouble leading from this, well, not so much trouble. We'll see about that in the next chapters (or... chapter, you know). Speaking of which, there will be a little hiatus now. I am going to a music festival with my friend, so I won't be home and/or able to write for about a week. And, unfortunately, I have no more chapters in stock, so I will have to write the next one, first. I promise that I will try to be as fast as possible, but please, have patience with me. ;)  
> As always, thank you very much for all your lovely comments. I'll see you next week! :)


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint, Nat and Steve come back home. Thor comes back, too. And it seems that Loki has made a big mistake...

“Oh, fucking finally,” Clint muttered when he walked into the common floor in the Avengers Tower. “If there's someone looking for me, I'll be taking a _long_ bath. Nat?”

“Are you asking if I'm going to join you?” she smirked. “We'll see about that.”

Clint grinned.

“I'll be waiting, honey,” he said. “Oh, Tony? Is the bracelet waterproof?”

“Not yet, sorry. Gonna improve it the first thing tomorrow. God, I'm tired today,” the inventor yawned. “Just come into my workshop, we'll talk about it. And every other idea you might have.”

“Careful, Nat,” said Clint. “Because I might be falling in love with him.”

“And I thought you were in love with Loki,” she shrugged. “Oh, well. I guess you could have both if you wanted.”

“This conversation is starting to feel very uncomfortable,” said Loki.

“Of course,” Tony nodded. “Spy Kids, you are so terrible. How can you think our little Viking princess could fall in love with a _man_? That's not how it works back in his golden kingdom.”

“Actually, Stark-”

“Thor is coming back,” said Steve.

Loki knew, of course. He had felt the energy of the Bifrost even before it opened. He refused to turn around to see it disappear. The longing to go home was growing stronger, especially after the talk with his brother several hours ago.

“What was he doing there, anyway?” Clint asked.

“Doesn't matter,” Loki sighed. “Let's say he wanted to have a little chat with his father.”

“About?”

“Me, of course,” Loki smirked. “Like I said... Doesn't matter.”

Raindrops started to drum against the windows the moment the Bifrost closed.

“I think Goldie's not in the mood,” said Tony.

Thor slammed the glass door leading to the terrace so hard it was a miracle the glass didn't break.

“Definitely not,” Steve agreed.

“Loki!” Thor boomed. “What were you thinking?!”

“Thinking?” Loki frowned. “What do you mean-”

“You...” Thor growled. “You are forbidden to walk the branches of Yggdrasil. Have you forgotten?!”

“I haven't,” Loki replied and only Natasha and Tony noticed him going slightly paler than usual. “I... It was just a short trip, Thor, I needed to help Clint and Natasha and Steve. I... Please, tell me that it was Heimdall who told you about it. Please, tell me-”

“It was father,” said Thor.

“Oh.”

“Is that all you have to say?”

Only Tony noticed the slight shake of Loki's hands.

“Are you supposed to take me back or will the Einherjar come for me?” the younger god asked, with an almost too perfect poker face. “Because if it's just you, I... I think I would like to try to escape. If you don't mind.”

“Father decided to... forget about it, considering your intention was helping our friends. You don't have to come back.”

“Oh, that's so kind,” Loki smirked. “Did you have to convince him to _forget_?”

“No. It was his decision.”

“Of course it was.”

“Loki!”

“Uhm... I think I'm missing something here,” Clint coughed. “Loki?”

“Like Thor said, I am forbidden to walk the branches of Yggdrasil,” Loki shrugged. “That is... what I do when I teleport. Well, I don't need to do it for shorter distance, of course. Like here in the building, or in New York, I wouldn't need it for most of America, probably. Russia, on the other hand...”

“What? Hold on a minute!” said Tony. “You two told me you can't go back to fucking _Asgard_. You told me _that's_ your punishment. When and _how_ did it become not walking the branches of... whatever? And why, if you _knew_ you're not supposed to walk the branches of that thing-”

“The World tree, Stark.”

“Shut up, Princess! Why did you do it when you know you're not supposed to do it?!”

“Because Natasha needed my help, obviously. And stop _shouting_ , Stark. Everything is just fine, haven't you heard? Odin decided to _forgive me_ for being a little bad boy this time.”

“Tony's right, Loki,” said Natasha. “You shouldn't have-”

“You should have told me!” Tony growled. “Us. Whatever. Thor's right, what the _fuck_ were you thinking?! You lied to me, you little piece of shit! You want me to trust you? Well, you don't earn trust with _lies_. I was almost, _almost_ starting to believe-”

“Excuse me, Stark?” Loki blinked. “I never lied to you. I told you what you needed to know. Or do you want all the details about my punishment? Do you want to hear about all my restrictions? Do you want a list of things that will send me back? Well, let us start. My magic isn't restricted, no, but if I hurt someone, I go to Asgard. If I kill someone, Asgard. If just _one_ of you says they don't want me here, _Asgard_. If I try to take over the planet again-”

“If you're trying to be funny, it's not working,” said Tony. “You should have told me about it.”

“There was no need.”

“No need to tell me that if you teleport, you risk being brought back to Asgard and-”

“Shut up, Stark. Don't you _dare_. He has forgiven me this time!”

“But only this time, brother,” said Thor. “If you ever walk the branches of Yggdrasil again...”

“Don't worry. It will not happen. If you will excuse me now, I am going to go and read a book or... something.”

“Yeah, whatever, Princess,” said Tony. “I'm gonna go to the workshop.”

The next second, Loki vanished and Tony headed for the elevator.

“Uhm,” said Clint. “I think I'm still missing something. I don't understand-”

“I'm not sure that I want to understand,” Steve shrugged. “Wasn't it much better when they hated each other?”

“My brother never hated Stark,” Thor sighed. “I am sorry, friends, but I have to go and find him. We need to talk.”

“Good luck with that,” said Natasha. “Oh, Clint. I love how uncomplicated you are.”

“Thanks, baby. No, wait... Was that a compliment or not?”

 

“Sir, may I-”

“You may not, Jarvis.”

“But sir-”

“I'm _not_ leaving the workshop. Where's the asshole?”

“Mr. Liesmith is currently locked in his bedroom, trying to ignore Mr. Odinson, sir. As he has been doing for the past three hours.”

“Oh, look at our little princess, going all drama queen...” Tony smirked.

“You might say he is not the only one, sir.”

“What the hell do you mean, Jarvis?”

“Compared to your usual behavior, your reaction to the news delivered by Mr. Odinson today-”

“Are you telling me _I_ am going all drama queen, J?”

“Definitely not, sir. I would never dare.”

“ _Jarvis_!”

“Maybe a little.”

“He lied to me, J. Well, he didn't exactly lie, _obviously_ , but he didn't tell me the whole truth. How am I supposed to trust him, eh? What _else_ he's not telling me? I... I thought he _liked_ me, Jarvis, you know? And I... Yeah, maybe I'm pissed of because I didn't know and I couldn't stop him from... doing that stupid, _idiotic_ mistake and putting his life in danger. No, better, putting his head on the block, _almost_ literally, for Clint and Nat. Like he doesn't know they can take care of themselves, especially if they have Cap with them. No, he just runs and decides he wants to be a hero and save the day and... Oh, just _fuck me_.”

“Sir?”

“I hate him. I just... I just hate him, J.”

“Of course you do, sir.”

“Is he still in his bedroom?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And Thor's still behind his door?”

“I am afraid he is.”

“Good. Tell Princess to meet me at our usual favorite place. You know, where we can gaze at the stars and other romantic shit.”

“You mean the roof, sir?”

“Yes, I mean the roof,” Tony nodded. “And if he doesn't want to come, tell him I'll bring some scotch.”

 

When, four minutes later (he had to grab the scotch and two glasses, first), Tony stepped onto the roof, Loki was already waiting for him.

“A peace offering, Stark?” Loki smirked.

“Oh, shut up, Space Princess,” Tony sighed and handed him one empty glass. “Look, I'm sorry for being so pissed off, but... You should have told me. Really.”

“And what would it change? Do you think you could have stopped me? My punishment is _my_ problem. You don't need to know the details.”

“But you told me-”

“I didn't, Stark. Thor was the one who told you about my death sentence. I confirmed that I cannot go back... home. This new information... Well, you didn't need to know it, now you do. End of the story. ”

Tony nodded and poured a generous amount of scotch into the glass in Loki's hand, and then into the one in his own.

“Just promise me you won't use the fucking _tree thingy_ again. I don't want your daddy to execute you for a reason as stupid as this.”

“Sentiment, my dear Anthony?” Loki smirked. “Have you come to like me?”

“I'm just allergic to your dad, so I really don't want him to win, Princess.”

This time, Loki smiled and clinked glasses with Tony.

“My dear,” he said. “I think _I_ might start to like _you_.”

“Oh, lucky me,” Tony sighed. “Hey, how about finally watching the two-parter of Doctor Who? Hopefully there won't be an alien invasion halfway into it. Especially if you'll stay in your seat.”

“Do I have to?” asked Loki. “It is such a nice evening for an invasion...”

“You can invade my living room. I have more scotch, some chocolate ice-cream, maybe even cookies.”

“Oh, well, every invasion has to start somewhere...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, look who's back home! In case you want to know, the music festival was truly fantastic, this year was one of the best I have been to. I really enjoyed it, even though I'm still tired. Which didn't stop me from writing a new chapter, of course. It took me most of the evening, but it's done. I'll try to post the next one as soon as possible, but I won't make any promises, just in case. :)  
> As always, thank you for your comments. Without them, I would have gone to bed a few hours ago and leave finishing the chapter for tomorrow... :D


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony, Loki and a bottle of scotch. Does it seem like a terrible combination? It is. In other words, Loki's got another hangover, and he has to endure a little chat with his two favourite spies...

Loki didn't remember much from the evening.

He remembered finally watching the two episodes of Doctor Who and loving them.

He remembered Tony pouring him another drink. Sixth? Seventh? Who cares.

He remembered watching something else and drinking some more.

He remembered eating an absolutely disgusting pizza with anchovies. And drinking a lot more after that to wash away the taste.

Thankfully, he didn't remember doing anything inappropriate with Stark, well, nothing more than shoving him down from the sofa when the mortal became too annoying and tried to explain to him why his magic can't work.

(He also didn't remember that he tried to prove to the man that his magic _does_ work and tried to _magically_ change into his armor. The first part – taking off his clothes – was fine. What he failed at was putting his armor back _on_ , so he ended up completely naked in front of the inventor. Strangely, Tony remembered this incident. He didn't remember being shoved down from the sofa, though.)

Neither of them knew how they had ended up with their limbs completely intertwined on the sofa, and neither of them commented on the fact that Tony had drooled all over the front of the T-shirt Loki had somehow managed to magic back on, along with his pants.

“Oh, Christ,” was all that Tony said when he tried to lift his head for the first time.

“I have no idea who that's supposed to be,” Loki muttered. “But yes. Oh, Christ.”

“I think my arm fell asleep under your ribcage.”

“If you want it, Stark, you're going to need someone to cut it off. Or lift me up. Oh, you should be thankful that the spell which makes me lighter is still working, because otherwise-”

“Yeah, I know, you heavy Asgardians,” Tony yawned. “I am thankful that my arm hasn't dropped off by itself. Happy?”

“Absolutely not,” Loki replied. “This was such a stupid, stupid idea...”

“Agreed.”

“By the way, you are pressing your heel into my calf and it fucking _hurts_.”

“Your _talking_ fucking hurts, Princess, and I'm not complaining.”

“You are.”

“Well, give me my arm back and I'm gonna move my leg. Maybe.”

“You move your leg _and_ your other arm.”

“Where's that one?”

“Wrapped around my waist.”

“Oh. Gross.”

“Stark!”

“Not until I get my arm back. I think I'm losing the feeling in my fingers.”

“Well, _my_ arm is somewhere underneath you, too. Actually, I think it's on your ass.”

“Double gross.”

“Okay. This is going to require some planning...”

 

It took them five minutes to untangle themselves and get on their feet. Well, almost. Tony was on his feet and heading for the coffee machine, but Loki was still laying on the couch when Jarvis told him that Clint and Natasha demand him to come to their flat, immediately, if possible, two minutes ago was too late, actually.

Loki whined (which really shouldn't be sending a shiver down Tony's spine, _where the hell did that come from?!_ ) and stood up.

“I am afraid that I have to decline your most gracious offer of coffee, after all,” he said. “But I think that if I don't go right now, they will come for me.”

“Of course they will,” Tony nodded. “That's okay. More left for me.”

“Tell me, my dearest Anthony, how exactly do you even _function_ with a hangover like this?” asked Loki when taking only a few steps forward made his head spin.

“I've got a lot of practice, Space Princess,” Tony grinned. “Enjoy the Spy Kids. I hope they won't kill you. I have a strange feeling that I promised to show you more Doctor Who. I really wouldn't want them to kill the first person I know who actually _likes_ the show.”

“I will try to stay alive,” Loki smiled. “See you later, Anthony.”

“Later, Lolo.”

Loki rolled his eyes before stepping into the elevator.

Tony sighed when the door silently closed.

“Oh, fuck,” he muttered. “I'm still drunk. I'm definitely still drunk.”

“Most likely, sir.”

“Shut up, J. That was rhetorical.”

“Of course, sir. My apologies.”

“I don't know why, Jarvis, but I have a strange feeling that you're mocking me...”

 

Loki heard Clint's voice the moment he walked through the main door of the flat. It seemed that the archer was singing, or at least attempting to sing.

“My girl, my girl, don't lie, to me,” were the words he sang with his eyes fixed on Loki. “Tell me where did you sleep last night...”

“Excuse me?” Loki blinked.

“Don't worry about it,” said Natasha. “His singing haven't got worse since he lost his hearing, no. Actually, I think it might have improved a bit.”

“Ha. Ha. Ha, baby,” Clint smirked, not staring at Loki anymore but reading the conversation from the hologram above his wristband. “I asked where did you sleep last night, Loki. Because we know it wasn't in your own bed.”

“I...” Loki shrugged. “I had a few drinks too many with Stark. It seems that I fell asleep on his couch.” There was really no need telling them that Tony was there, too. They were fully clothed, after all. And way too drunk.

“Poor baby,” said Natasha. “Do you want some coffee?”

“Yes, please.”

“So, a hangover?” Clint grinned. “Nice. He's a real disruptive influence, isn't he?”

“You two were the ones who got me this drunk last time,” said Loki.

“Doesn't matter. Tony's the disruptive influence. We love him, but he is,” Clint smiled. “Nat? Am I supposed to wait for you to get him his coffee, or should I start?”

“Feel free to start,” she replied.

“Oh,” Loki nodded. “This is going to be another ' _Loki, you are a bloody idiot_ ' type of conversation, isn't it?”

“You haven't told us they were going to _kill you_ back in Asgard,” said Clint. “Thor told us, this morning. So we'd _understand_ what's the big deal with your journey to Russia. So yeah, Loki, you _are_ a bloody idiot!”

“I-”

“Not listening to your excuses. Not _hearing_ them. You should have told us. I thought we were friends. You tell these things to friends. Especially if they might get you killed without even knowing it. And _especially_ if it's their fault you are in a situation like that!”

“How it's supposed to be your fault?” Loki blinked.

“Oh, come on. After the battle? We both know the only reason the Asgardians got you was that you'd saved my life.”

“ _What_? No, Clint, that is not true. I-”

“No? So you didn't have third degree burns after that stunt, right? You didn't teleport to _Thor's side_ and faint immediately. You weren't so confused when you woke up that it took you several _minutes_ to realize that you're imprisoned. Not at all.”

“Are you blaming yourself for my situation?” Loki smirked. “Don't. I have made hundreds of mistakes, and I made all of them... almost all of them _myself_. Saving you wasn't a mistake, not at all. I admit that I thought it was, when Odin sentenced me to death, but when Thor convinced him to let me stay here... I think it is one of the best things to have happened to me in the past several years. I am glad that I didn't escape after the battle, because... I might have been alive now, yes, hiding somewhere in the realms, but they would eventually hunt me down. I could escape _now_ if I wanted, but why? The exile isn't so bad. There are restrictions, yes. And I miss Asgard, yes. But I _am_ alive. Relatively safe. And I feel... content. And for the first time in years, I don't wish I was dead. Well, right now, I do, of course, because... Oh, thank you, Natasha. Coffee, just what I need...”

“Are you sure you don't wish to be dead?” Natasha asked. “Because it looks like you do. Giving us those amulets even though you knew-”

“I admit I thought I would be able to get to you without using the Yggdrasil,” Loki sighed and sipped his coffee. “And then I hoped the Allfather wouldn't notice me.”

“But he did,” she said. “And you are really not supposed to risk-”

“Natasha, let _me_ decide who is worth risking my life for, all right?” said Loki. “You are my friends. Well, I hope you are. You two were the first ones to trust me. That means you are definitely worth it.”

Clint smiled and grasped Loki's shoulder.

“Thanks, man,” he said. “You'd be worth it, too, by the way.”

“Oh, I do hope so,” Loki grinned.

“But we still need to have a talk about all those... restrictions,” said Natasha. “What you can and cannot do.”

“Because I really don't want to _accidentally_ get you executed just by telling some stupid joke or something,” Clint added.

“You will not get me executed-”

“Or would you rather sort it out with Cap?” Natasha asked.

“Uhm,” Loki commented. “Well. The first thing is, obviously, that I cannot leave Midgard and cannot use the World tree for traveling. The second thing is that I cannot badly hurt or kill anyone here. The third thing, I have to obey Thor, at least when it comes to the important things. Then of course, it's up to Odin to decide what is important. Also, I cannot...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must say I had so much fun writing this chapter, especially the first part. It wasn't planned, it just... sort of happened. Oh, never mind. :D  
> As always, thank you very much for all your lovely comments! I promise the next chapter will be on as soon as possible. :)


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki's talk with the two spies continues. But then Tony comes looking for his Princess and drags him (and Clint) into the workshop. Science and Doctor Who ensues.

The talk about Loki's restrictions quickly became the talk about his home itself, and about his life back in Asgard before the fall. (Which Natasha didn't know anything about, of course, so Loki called it simply _before_. Clint knew, of course, but he didn't mention knowing.)

Loki didn't know why he was telling them. He didn't even know how it started. Well, he remembered saying something like “oh, it was always like this” while explaining his punishment, but then...

Somehow, he ended up telling the two spies about Asgard's golden halls ( _and why exactly did he sound so dreamy even to himself, he hated the gold everywhere_ ), about the giant library and about the large bookcases in his chambers ( _oh, he had to admit he missed those_ ) and how when they were both little and the night was stormy, he used to sneak inside Thor's bedroom, because with his brother, he was never scared during the storm. He told them about running in the gardens and practicing magic with his mother, sparring with Thor and trying to become worthy in Odin's eyes (and never succeeding, of course).

He would have told them more, much more, but then the knock on the door came and Natasha got to her feet.

There was another knock, much louder, before she even reached the door. And when she opened it...

“Where's my Space Princess?” asked Tony Stark's voice. “He's gone down here two hours ago and-”

“I'm here, Stark,” Loki sighed. “Did you want something?”

“Oh, no, just making sure they haven't killed you for your little teleporting stunt, baby,” Tony replied. “And I came to ask Clint if he wants to go to the workshop with me, so we could talk about those... improvements for the wristband. Birdie, you've had any ideas?”

“A few,” said Clint.

“So, you wanna go?”

“I don't know. Nat?”

“Go,” she nodded. “I wanted to ask Steve to go sparring with me, anyway.”

“Fine. Yes, Tony, I'm coming. And I hope that you won't say ' _that's what Loki said last night_ ', because that would be just... ewww.”

“So funny, Barton,” Tony smirked. “Loki, care to join us?”

“Is this an invitation?” Loki blinked.

“You bet your skinny ass it is,” Tony grinned. “Come on, Princess, let's do some science. I've got much better coffee downstairs than our agents have here.”

“I... I don't know,” Loki sighed. “I don't think I am in the mood for-”

“What have you two done to my Princess?” Tony frowned. “Seriously, he was just his usual moody when he went down here, and now he is... moody moody. I don't like moody moody.”

“Oh, Christ, Stark, how many times do I have to tell you? You are not supposed to wash the painkillers down with coffee,” Natasha sighed.

“It wasn't a coffee, it was a coffee and _then_ an energy drink.”

“Even better.”

“Are you sure you _can_ work?” asked Clint.

“Oh, yes, totally sure,” Tony nodded. “Come on, I'm not _drunk_. I'm just... In a very good mood.”

“Fine. Come on, then, Loki,” said Clint and stood up. “Nat, enjoy your training. See you later.”

“Later,” she replied and placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

“Oh, come on, guys,” Tony rolled his eyes. “I'd like to get into the workshop before I'm seventy!”

“Annoying, my dear Anthony, that's what you are,” Loki sighed. “Terribly annoying.”

“Oh, I know,” the inventor grinned. “Seriously though, are you okay? You really seem moody.”

“Nostalgic moody, if you need to know,” Loki muttered.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“No, thank you,” Loki shook his head. “Can we watch some Doctor Who while you work?”

“Not until I leave,” said Clint. “Stark, you see what you've done? He could have been _normal_.”

“Oh, I very much doubt that,” Loki shook his head. “I never even wanted to be normal.”

“Good. I wouldn't want you to be,” Tony winked.

“Oh, God,” Clint sighed. “Are you seriously _flirting_?”

“What?” Tony snorted. “Hell no! Why does everyone think we are?”

“Because it _looks_ like you do.”

“This is just unfair. I treat him like a piece of shit, you don't like it. I am nice to him, you don't like it. What am I supposed to do, eh?”

“Perhaps it is the winking, my dear Anthony.”

“Yeah, and calling me your _dear Anthony_ is probably not helping.”

“Oh, I'm sorry, _Stark_. Better?”

“Much better. Thanks, Princess.”

Clint shook his head.

“Yup. Not flirting. Not flirting at all...”

 

“Fine,” Tony nodded about an hour later. “If you think of anything else, just let me know.”

“Of course,” said Clint.

“But I'm gonna, you know, need the wristband, Birdie.”

“Oh. Oh, of course,” Clint nodded. “Sorry, but it's just so great that I don't want to... give it up, I think.”

“I promise you'll get it back as soon as possible.”

“Fine. Right. Here,” Clint sighed and opened the clasp of his wristband. “So... I think I'll go now. I'll let you watch your show and do... science.”

Tony raised his right hand and waved. Loki looked up from the tablet he'd stolen from Tony about half an hour ago and mirrored the inventor's gesture.

“Yeah, have a nice day, too,” the archer smirked and headed for the elevator.

“Jarvis,” said Tony. “We're gonna start with Rose, then just... play the episodes in the right order. Thanks, babe.”

“And order us some food, please,” Loki added. “I don't know about you, Anthoy, but I am starving. I would kill for some lasagna. Thank you, Jarvis.”

“Make that two, J.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Good,” Tony nodded. “And now we're gonna do the science...”

 

A knock on the glass door of the workshop startled both of them. Tony turned his head from the TV and saw Bruce standing in the doorway.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he gasped. “Are you trying to kill me?!”

“Jarvis, pause,” said Loki. “Hello, Bruce.”

“I thought you're working. Clint said you're working,” Bruce frowned.

“We _were_ working, Brucie. The wristband is all ready and everything. We just wanted to finish the episode, that's all.”

“Anthony, we've watched three episodes since you've finished.”

“Shush, Princess. Fine, we just wanted to finish the _season_. But don't worry, this is the last episode, I swear!”

“You two do realize that no one's heard of you for more than nine hours?” Bruce asked.

“Oops,” Tony grinned. “Have we missed dinner?”

“Almost. Pizza should be here in about twenty minutes.”

Tony glanced at the TV and nodded.

“We'll be upstairs in about thirty. Well, if Loki doesn't become a mess when The Doctor regenerates.”

“When The Doctor _what_?!”

“Oh, nothing, Lokes, nothing. It will all be explained.”

“B-but...”

“Brucie, tell the others we'll be there for dinner. Lokes, calm down.”

“But what will happen to The Doctor?!”

“You'll see, babe, you'll see... Oh, and Bruce? There's Clint's wristband on one of the tables, would you take it to him? Thanks. Jarvis? Play.”

 

When Bruce walked into the common area, all the eyes turned to him.

“They're both still alive, if you're wondering,” he said. “Clint, this is for you.”

“What are they doing?” Steve asked.

“Bonding,” Bruce smirked. “Really, who would have thought Loki would like the same shows that Tony likes? But he's sitting there and staring at the TV like it was the Holy Grail.”

“Oh, well. It's better than when he was trying to destroy the world, isn't it?” Natasha shrugged.

“Definitely,” Bruce nodded. “Besides, it's kind of cute.”

“I don't think anyone has ever dared to describe my brother as _cute_ ,” Thor blinked. “I would suggest you not to let him hear that. The consequences might be catastrophic for you.”

“And, subsequently, for Tony's floors,” Clint added.

“I'm just glad we don't have to listen to them insulting each other all the time. That was really annoying,” said Natasha. “By the way, whose turn is it to choose the movie tonight? And don't say Tony's.”

“I'm sorry, but if those two decide to stay for the movie night, then yes, it's Tony's turn,” Steve sighed.

“Fine. So what am I supposed to convince him to watch? Something Disney?” she asked.

“Yes,” Clint nodded. “I think _Loki_ should definitely see more Disney movies.”

“My thoughts exactly, Clint...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a little bit longer than I'd expected. I'm really sorry, but I was kind of working on other things (including a little something for this year's FrostIron Bang). But I have got about half of the next chapter in my head, so it shouldn't take that long. :)  
> As always, thank you for al your lovely comments, because that's what keeps me writing. :)


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The movie night has ended and Tony findshimself left alone only with Bruce and Steve. And he might not enjoy the talk that ensues...

“Once again, Princess. Alienis the _bad guy_.”

“Are you sure? I quite liked it.”

“Of course you did, you are the guy cheering on the bloody _Daleks_.”

“But they are kind of cute, in their little cans, with their lovely death rays...”

“You are doing this on purpose.”

“Maybe a little bit.”

“So I take it you enjoyed the movie, right?”

“Oh, I did. It was just the right amount of scary.”

“I'm gonna start to think you're my soulmate, Space Princess. But I swear that the next time, we're definitely gonna watch Pocahontas or something.”

“As you wish, my dear Anthony. But I think I will leave you now. I am terribly tired.”

“Oh, are you? I was thinking we could go back to the workshop and-”

“Maybe tomorrow. Right now, I would like to go to _my bed_ and sleep.”

“Okay. I'm gonna... go and work on something alone, then. Or, I don't know, maybe I'll just go to bed too.”

“You can do whatever you like, dear. Good night, Anthony.”

“Night. Get your beauty sleep, so you're a pretty Princess.”

“Good night, everyone. Thor, are you coming?”

The blonde blinked, and only then fully realized that Loki's conversation with Tony had finally ended and the question was intended for him.

“Oh, yes. Of course,” he said. “Good night, friends.”

In response, there came a few muttered 'good nights'.

 

Just about five minutes after the two gods had left, Clint and Natasha excused themselves too, which left only Tony, Bruce and Steve in the common living room.

“So,” Tony sighed. “I think I'll go to the workshop, at least for a while. Bruce, you want to come with me?”

“I don't think so,” Bruce shook his head. “It's too late for me, sorry.”

“Oh, great. Caaap?”

“I'm not keeping _you_ company in the workshop,” said Steve. “I don't understand most of the things you're saying-”

“If it makes you feel better, nobody does,” Tony shrugged.

“That's true. Even I understand only about half of it,” Bruce confirmed.

“And besides, I don't think I would be a proper replacement for your beloved _Princess_ ,” Steve added to his previous statement.

“My _Princess_. Oh, not you too. Don't start with that bullshit. There's nothing between me and Loki, for fuck's sake! We only fucking-”

“Language,” Bruce sighed. “This is a little too much, even for me.”

“Sorry, honey. We only _beeping_ get along with each other. Unfortunately it seems that for me, getting along with a smart and handsome guy means flirting a bit.”

“How come you never flirt with me, then?” Steve smirked.

“Sorry, Cap, you're _not_ my type.”

“So you admit that you _do_ flirt with Loki,” said Bruce.

“I don't...” Tony stopped in the middle of his sentence and sighed. “Okay, I might. A teeny, tiny bit. Unconsciously, that's a really important part. But I... Shit, look. It's been only a few days since I... started to trust him a _little_. And even though I can't admit it to him, it was partly out of pity. The shit he's been through, it's... terrible. And you don't know _anything_ about it, and I can't tell you. But I... No, you know what? I don't think I really want to talk about this.”

“Yes, you do,” said Steve.

“Is that an order, Captain?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, you're so scary,” Tony smirked. “Right. As you wish. You know, I have been thinking about this. A lot. It just keeps popping up in my head. That he's the guy who attacked the planet, he's the guy who tried to kill us all, he's the guy who threw me out of my window, _several times_ , he's the guy who killed Phil, he's Thor's mad brother who likes it when people kneel before him. I shouldn't _like_ him. I should never let my guard down, because... He might have something up his sleeve. You never know. But then I remember his panic attack on the roof and how lost and scared he looked, and I remember what he's been through, and... I don't know why, but I _enjoy_ the time I spend with him. He's... quite charming, you know? And really clever. Witty. And I love it when we're sassing each other, because we can go on _forever_ and he doesn't get offended, he just says something clever right back and... I don't want to like it. I fucking don't want to like it.”

“If it's going to help, I think he likes spending the time with you too,” Bruce smiled.

“Which makes it even harder. And I don't really know why. Why _me_? He's got Thor, his _brother_ , and he's got Clint and Nat, and he fucking adores them, but he keeps coming to me. Well, okay, we sort of keep running into each other, it's been like this since he appeared here, but-”

“Who are you trying to fool, Tony, us or yourself?” Steve frowned. “Natasha said _you_ were the one to come for _him_ today.”

“I came to offer Clint to discuss his wristband with me!”

“And ended up dragging Loki into the workshop with you and keeping him there for the whole day.”

“Whose side are you on, Bruce?”

“Do you want to know why he likes to spend time with you?” Bruce asked. “Because you're neither his brother who reminds him of Asgard by simply _existing_ , nor he's at least partially responsible for you losing your hearing forever. Besides, you're charming and clever and witty and... What was it you said next? Well, not that it matters. The point is, you two are so much alike it almost hurts to look at.”

“Come on, Tony,” said Steve. “Of course he likes you. Even though _I'm_ not sure why. You keep calling him Princess. When did he stop hating it, by the way?”

“When it became an endearment rather than an insult?” Tony shrugged.

“An endearment? It's hardcore flirting, Tony,” Bruce laughed.

“It's _not_ ,” Tony frowned. “And even if it was, why would it matter? He's a het.”

“Is he?” Bruce blinked.

“Oh, come on. He comes from Asgard. Homosexuality is frowned upon, or something like that. That _argr_ bullshit, you know.”

“Are you telling me that he can't be gay or bi, just because they don't like that kind of people in Asgard?” Steve rolled his eyes. “Right. Because back in the forties, when they would beat the shit out of you and tell you to burn in hell for being gay, there were no queer people around, not at all.”

“It doesn't matter. I am willing to befriend him, but I am not interested in him _like that_. You get it? I promise I will stop flirting with him if it makes you uncomfortable or anything. And you know what? I'm gonna go to the workshop now. Good night.”

The two remaining Avengers kept quiet until the elevator door slid shut behind Tony.

“Did you notice his _first_ argument was that Loki is a heterosexual?” asked Steve.

“Yep,” Bruce nodded.

“Do you think it's true? I mean, my gaydar isn't exactly the best-”

“Gaydar? Can I be horrified for a while because Captain America knows the term _gaydar_?”

“Do you think Loki's a heterosexual?”

“I think he's about as het as Tony is. _'My dear Anthony'_ is just the same as _Princess_.”

“Hardcore flirting?”

“Hell yes.”

Steve frowned.

“I... I don't know. But shouldn't we do _something_ about it?”

“Are you suggesting we meddle in our teammate's love life, Steve?”

“I am suggesting we should find a way to _inform_ Tony, and by _inform_ I mean bring _evidence_ , that Loki is bisexual _or_ gay.”

“And where would you like to get that evidence, eh?”

 

The next morning, Steve entered the kitchen at 7:30, precisely a minute after Natasha did.

“Agent,” he said and stood beside her by the kitchen counter, just as she was pouring herself a coffee into a large mug.

“Captain,” she replied and began to fill another mug.

“I believe I have a mission for you, agent.”

“What do you need?”

“Intelligence.”

“About?”

“Loki.”

“Please, elaborate, Captain. I don't have the whole day. Clint's waiting for his coffee...”

 

Fourteen minutes later, Thor opened his flat's door to find a redheaded spy standing there a half-full mug of coffee in her hand.

“Hello, Natasha,” the blonde said politely. “I am sorry but Loki has just just went to fetch himself some breakfast, I am sure you must have-”

“We need to talk, Thor,” she smiled and took a swallow of the coffee. “Trust me. It's for your brother's own good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, this chapter is probably a little bit shorter than others, but hey, at least it didn't take me that long to write it. :D (I only wish I could write this more, so I would once again have a chapter or two in stock, but I guess you can't have everything you want.) If nothing happens, the next chapter should be done pretty soon, too. I've got a certain plan already. *insert evil laughter*  
> And as always, thank you very much for all your comments! :)


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a lunch, and a talk about Norse mythology. Which means some of Loki's secrets might be revealed. (And some of Thor's, too.)

“Hey! Stop pushing me!”

“Just _go_ , Tony, or it will be someone _else_ pushing you, and he might as well push you through a _wall_.”

“You would set him against me?”

“Anytime.”

“That's really hurting my feelings, Brucie!”

“Yeah, whatever. Go.”

“But I told you I'm not hungry!”

“Don't care. As your doctor-”

“You're not my doctor! I gave you a chance to be my therapist, and you _fell asleep on me_!”

“Blah, blah, blah, Tony. As your doctor, I have decided you should eat regularly. It's time for lunch.”

“What are you, my nanny?”

“No, I am your worst nightmare.”

“Oh, so you are _that_ nanny. Hell, what was her name?”

“ _Walk forwards_ , Tony!”

“But I'm not-”

“Yes, you are!”

“I think I'll call you Nanny Green. Can I call you Nanny Green?”

“How long it's been since Loki last threw you out of the window? Because I think he should do it again.”

Tony walked into the kitchen, a wide grin on his face.

“Maybe. But he won't. Because... Oh, hi, Princess, you're here. And... everyone else, too.”

“Yes. Because as your doctor,” said Bruce behind him, “I have ordered _all_ of you to eat regularly, so we can as well eat together.”

“Right. What are we having? Something incredibly healthy?”

“Hamburgers and fries,” said Steve. “I've cooked.”

“So, nothing incredibly healthy. Good. Princess, have they given you a burger yet? I mean, since you came here.”

“Unfortunately no,” Loki shook his head. “But I am looking forward to it. I find Midgard's cuisine very enjoyable.”

“Everything's better than a roasted pig, eh?” Tony smirked. “But yeah, you're definitely gonna enjoy _this_. Steve's burgers are just legendary...”

 

They were about halfway into the meal when, after exchanging looks with Thor, Natasha cleared her throat.

“You know, Loki,” she said. “I have read some Norse myths this morning...”

“What?” Tony frowned. “Are you telling me you read stuff like that for fun?”

“Shut up, Stark,” said Natasha. “Loki. There were some really interesting myths, and I would like to know if they're, well...”

“You mean if it really happened?” Loki smiled. “Sure. Just ask.”

“First, the eight-legged horse.”

“Sleipnir. Yes, my father owns such a horse,” Loki nodded. “No, it is not my child.”

“ _What_?!” Tony shrieked. “I mean, how could it even _be_ -”

“It's a myth, Tony,” Natasha sighed. “How some frost giant came to Asgard and offered the gods to build a wall around Asgard, but he wanted the goddess Freyja in return. And Loki said they should accept his offer but give him a very tight deadline. But the frost giant-”

“What the hell are frost giants?!” asked Tony.

“Monsters,” Loki muttered. “From Jotunheim.”

“Loki...” Thor sighed.

“The Jotun had a magical horse, so he almost managed to build the wall in time,” said Loki. “Everyone was angry with me, so, to correct my mistake, I changed into a beautiful mare and lured the horse away. The myth says I wasn't able to outrun it, I was raped and gave birth to an eight-legged foal. Which is bullshit. Yes, the horse was chasing me, but I did what every sane person would have done. I changed back into my Aesir form.”

“And then climbed the nearest tree, just in case,” Thor added.

“Well, yes,” Loki shrugged. “But the next time Thor's idiotic friends came to Midgard, they just _had_ to add the part with the foal to the story. Just because I liked Sleipnir, he liked me and I often visited him in his stable. I mean, he is a very clever horse, I really love him and I was even responsible for some of his training. But no, he is not my child. What's the next myth?”

“Well...” Natasha smiled. “Thor as a bride.”

Steve nearly choked on one of his fries.

“ _What the fuck_?!”

“Language, Cap,” said Tony. “But yeah, what the actual fuck?!”

“In short,” said Natasha. “Thor's hammer goes missing, Loki finds out some frost giant stole it and wants Freyja to be his bride in order to return it-”

“Chick's popular,” Clint smirked.

“Freyja refuses, so they have to trick the giant. So Thor dresses up as a bride, Loki as his maid of honor, they borrow Freyja's carriage, go into Jotunheim and when Thor gets near his hammer, he grabs it and slays them all.”

“I _so_ want to know if that one's true!” said Tony.

“Loki, don't you _dare_!” Thor growled.

“True,” Loki grinned. “Completely true. And let me tell you, he was _adorable_ in that dress. Wait, I'll show you...”

And suddenly, there was a flickering copy of Thor standing by the fridge, in a white wedding dress and with a lace veil, looking very unimpressed.

“ _Loki_!” Thor groaned, although not even his brother could hear it above the laughter of all the other Avengers.

“Oh, this is pure _gold_!” Tony giggled. “Jarvis! Jarvis, I want pictures of this, you hear me?”

“Of course, sir.”

It took them a while to calm down. When the laughter almost died and the copy vanished, Clint grinned.

“But you know what _I_ want to know? How did _you_ look in drag, Loki.”

“Drag?” the god blinked.

“When a man dresses up as a woman,” Steve explained.

“Seriously?” Bruce blinked. “I appreciate that you are catching up with the modern language, but where exactly do you getyour knowledge _from_?”

“Does it matter?” Steve shrugged. “Loki, Clint asked you something.”

“Oh, I wasn't... _in drag_ ,” Loki smiled. Then his whole form shimmered and suddenly, Loki wasn't there anymore, but there was a tall and very well endowed woman sitting on his chair. She had black hair and bright green eyes, and her dress was green and black and incredibly revealing.

“Loki?” Natasha gasped. “Now, _that_ is something I could use.”

“Nat, don't get me wrong, but he's sexy as hell. She. He. Damn. Loki's sexy as hell.”

“Yes, Clint,” she nodded. “He, slash, she is bloody _hot_.”

“He,” Loki smiled. “Even like this... He. Well, except for those I need to trick. To them, I am definitely _she_.”

“Wait, Loki,” said Thor. “Isn't this the face you tried to seduce the ambassador of Alfheim with?”

“Don't remind me of that fiasco, Thor, please,” Loki sighed and changed back into his usual form.

“You shouldn't have shown them my wedding dress,” the blonde smirked. “By the way, that thing was entirely your fault. I _told_ you he was having an affair with his advisor, but you thought he preferred women.”

“He was _married_ , Thor.”

“So?” Thor shrugged. “My friends, _this_ is something the myths don't tell you. There was this large feast. And an adorable woman you just saw spent almost the whole evening flirting with the ambassador of Alfheim, but he didn't seem too interested. In the end, he just told her that he is terribly sorry and he appreciates her attention, but he enjoys the company of, well, men.”

“Meaning I have wasted my evening,” said Loki.

“The lady excused herself, politely, and left. Two minutes later, Loki walked in, even though I recall that before the feast, he had seemed to have a terrible headache...”

“Well, I didn't spend too much time there, did I?”

“No, because you left with the ambassador about ten minutes after you had come.”

“And the ambassador then left my chambers about ten minutes after _he_ had come,” Loki smirked. “But I don't mean... come in, of course.”

“Yes. And then you... entertained him for the whole next year, didn't you? And his advisor, sometimes.”

“Thor! What do you think of me?”

“I saw you dragging them both to your chambers more than once, brother. And when his wife found out and he had to leave, I saw you with the next ambassador _and_ her husband. My chambers are next to yours, remember? I don't _think_ anything, I _know_.”

“Strange,” said Natasha. “I always thought you would be nearly asexual. And you turn out to be Asgard's biggest whore.”

“Oh, thank you, dear,” Loki smirked. “But I am sure I wasn't the biggest one.”

“But you certainly made the position of an ambassador very popular,” Thor commented.

“I did,” Loki nodded. “But is it wrong to enjoy sex? Stark. You are the playboy, is it wrong to enjoy it?”

“No. Definitely not,” said Tony, but he wasn't looking at Loki, but straight at Bruce and Steve, who were sitting right opposite him.

“I am sorry, I hope no one is offended by my interest in both men and women,” Loki frowned. “Anthony?”

“No, don't worry about it, Princess, I swing both ways, too,” said Tony. “Came out about two years ago. I don't blame you for not knowing, since you were sitting on the throne of Asgard that time.”

“So... what is wrong with you?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all, Loki,” Tony shook his head. “Just someone here is being about as inconspicuous as a neon pink dildo in a monastery.”

“What-”

“Mr. Stark? I have miss Potts on the line, she demands to speak to you. Urgently.”

“Well, excuse me, guys, it seems I need to go and talk to my CEO,” said Tony and stood up. “J, put her through to my phone. Thanks.”

Loki blinked.

“Have I done something wrong?” he asked.

“No, Loki,” Bruce sighed. “ _You_ haven't...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just because I love you all, I'm posting this a bit sooner than I'd expected. You'd probably also want to hear that I'm already working on the next chapter, yay! Yes, those comments under the last chapter really encouraged me to write more. So thank you so, so much! :)


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It turns out that Tony's memory is really, really terrible. Also, the two idiots have a serious chat. Well, mostly serious.

Loki nodded.

“So you basically tricked me into telling you about my... What was that word? Bisexuality.”

“Yes,” said Natasha. “Sorry.”

“It was your idea, wasn't it?” the god asked.

“Actually, it was Thor's idea,” she admitted.

“Thor's?” Loki blinked and turned his head to his brother. “Really?”

“Yes,” the blonde sighed. “And I am deeply sorry for-”

“Sorry?” Loki grinned. “Oh, brother, there's no need for that. I am _so proud_ of you!”

“Proud,” Clint repeated. “Sorry, was that ironic? It's kind of hard to catch irony when you're just reading it.”

“It wasn't ironic at all. Oh, brother, maybe you're not just a witless oaf after all...”

“Uhm, thank you. I suppose,” Thor muttered.

“What I don't understand is why you wanted to prove my bisexuality to Anthony,” Loki frowned. “Is it somehow important?”

“No, not at all,” Bruce shook his head. “It's just... It came up in a conversation, Tony said you're definitely heterosexual, so we sort of... wanted to prove him wrong.”

“Oh, I don't think that is the whole truth,” said Loki. “In fact, I think I _know_ what's going on here.”

“Do you?” asked Steve.

“Yes. Yes, I do,” said Loki. “It's another bet, isn't it?”

There were several seconds of silence.

“Well... yes,” Bruce finally said. “Yeah, you've got us, it's another bet.”

“Fantastic! So how much did he lose?”

“Five... thousand dollars?” Bruce replied.

“Nice. Very nice,” Loki smiled.

“You... you don't mind, then?” Steve asked. “That we... forced you to tell us about... You know, because I feel sort of bad about it.”

“Oh, please. I would have told you earlier, but I never thought it was... important,” Loki shrugged. “I'm just happy there is no _argr_ shit in this realm, that always made things a little uncomfortable back in Asgard... That is exactly why I've always preferred men from Alfheim and Vanaheim.”

“And Midgard?” Clint asked.

“Are you offering yourself?” Loki grinned.

“Hell no!” Clint shook his head. “Well, maybe with that chick you can become, though it would still be weird to know _you_ are technically... Ouch! I was just kidding, Nat!”

“And I was just making sure you're just kidding,” she said.

“I have had a few Midgardian lovers,” Loki admitted. “But I tend to... avoid it. Not so many Midgardians spark my interest, and even less of them in the sexual way. And even if they do... Your lifespan seems terribly short to us, you know? Like I've said to Thor once... it's a heartbeat. And it is very depressing to see someone you care about just... wither away and die, while you still look and feel the same as you did when you met them.”

“Yeah. I know what you mean,” Steve sighed.

The kitchen door slammed shut and all the Avengers turned their heads. Tony blinked when he saw their grim expressions.

“What the hell? Did someone die while I was away?”

“No, it's... it's all fine,” Steve shook his head. “Just an uneasy thought. What did Pepper want?”

“Oh, well, this is a little awkward.” Tony bit his lower lip and shrugged. “It would seem that having a crazy god around and saving you from Russia and building a wristband for Clint and all that shit have had a rather harmful influence on my memory, which was never the best to start with.”

“So?” Natasha asked.

“I'm going to Japan. Business bullshit, you know. I am still the head of Stark Industries and there are just some things my CEO can't do without me. Especially when she doesn't understand the technical blabbering.”

“ _When_ are you leaving?” Loki blinked.

“Apparently about half an hour ago.”

“Typical,” Natasha rolled her eyes. “When are you coming back?”

“In about two weeks. Maybe. I don't know. Pepper made the plans, I'm just gonna be a good boy and try to stick to them.”

“You? A good boy? Right,” Clint nodded.

“Sorry, I... I need to pack, as quickly as possible, and get to the airport. Could anyone give me a lift, please?”

“I don't suppose you're talking about the car,” Natasha smirked. “I'll start the jet. Although I think it's a terrible abuse of our tech.”

“I'm paying for it, I can abuse it any time I want,” said Tony. “Oh, and just so you all know, I'm still pissed off. I'm gonna go pack, I'll say goodbye to you later.”

With that, he walked away.

 

Half an hour later, Loki materialized out of thin air in the middle of Tony's living room.

“You wanted to discuss something?”

“Bloody hell, what the actual... _Loki_!”

“Yes, that would be me,” the god nodded.

“What... Why are you even... You can't do this to me, I'm gonna have a heart attack! Or I'll call the suit before I realize it's you and-”

“Your beloved suit cannot do much harm to me, Anthony. Deal with it. _You_ were the one who demanded my presence here.”

“Yes, but I thought you'll use the elevator, like any other _sane person_ would!”

“That might actually be the problem,” Loki smirked.

“Oh, how clever. Listen, I would love to banter a little, but I really don't have much time, so... Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“I hope the shock haven't made you forget it.”

“Uhm... No. And now, if you could become a little more serious, that would be nice.”

“What is going on, my dear Anthony?” Loki blinked.

“This. This is _exactly_ what's going on.”

“I'm... afraid I don't understand,” Loki frowned.

“Look, Prin... _Loki_ ,” Tony sighed. “The thing is, that... back and forth between us, those cute nicknames and stupid jokes... I really thought you were heterosexual when I started it. I thought it was just a playful banter. But now that I know that you are... bi, and I am bi, it would just feel a bit... weird, if we kept doing it, you know what I mean? I would feel weird. I've been thinking about this while I was packing, and I just can't... do this anymore.”

“Oh. I see,” Loki nodded. “It's a good thing that you are going to Japan, then.”

“Yes. Probably,” Tony muttered.

“And after you come back?” asked Loki. “Will you just ignore me, like you did... well, just a few days ago?”

“No. _No_ ,” Tony shook his head. “That's exactly why I need us to stop this. I want to talk to you, I _like_ talking to you, it just... It would feel so uncomfortable when I _know_...”

“Stark, I don't feel any sexual attraction towards you, and you calling me Princess will not change that.”

“Ouch. That wasn't nice, Prin... Hell, why can't I stop this?!”

“Because you are so used to it, Anthony,” the god smiled.

“Tony. It's Tony. Stark or Tony.”

“But-”

“Please?”

“Fine. To... Stark.”

“Good. Loki.”

“This is going to get so boring,” Loki muttered.

“Yeah. Sorry,” Tony shrugged. “But I would really feel weird if we... You know that everyone thinks we were _flirting_ , right?”

“I wasn't.”

“Me neither.”

“So what exactly is the-”

“Nothing. It's all in my head. I _know_ it's all in my head. But it's either this or going back to ignoring you, and this is the better option, isn't it?”

“Yes,” Loki admitted. “Stark.”

“Good princess. I mean... good prince. Good god. Whatever. I really should go. My plane's waiting for me.”

“All right,” Loki nodded. “You won't take it personally if I don't go to say goodbye to you properly?”

“No, you can say bye right here.”

“Goodbye, Stark. “See you in two weeks.”

“In two weeks, Loki,” Tony smiled and suddenly hugged the god.

“Uhm...” Loki commented.

“Just a little friendly hug,” Tony winked and let Loki go. “Goodbye, sweetie. Shit, I mean... Bye. Lokes.”

Loki rolled his eyes.

“Oh dear, you cannot even stick to your own ideas, can you? It's a good thing that at least one of us has got some self-restraint. Or more than a quarter of the brain.”

“You know what? I thought I'd miss you a little when I'm gone. But nope. I'm not gonna miss _this_.”

“I think I might.”

“Yeah, I'm pretty sure about that. Look, I really need to go.”

“Go. And enjoy it.”

“Not sure about _that_. Bye, Loki.”  


Tony grabbed his suitcase, which seemed too large for a two-week trip, and the case containing one of his Iron Man suits (just to be ready for everything) and headed for the elevator.

“Goodbye, Anthony,” Loki muttered when the engineer was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wasn't planning on posting this so soon, but you and your comments are just so amazing that I *had* to do it. Thank you everyone, thank you so much! And, you know, if you keep on being this wonderful, I might keep writing really fast. :D (But I don't know who will write my FrostIron Bang for me, because right now, I am giving almost all of my writing time to this...)


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A phone call between New York and Japan. Two phone calls, actually. Because Tony really wants to talk to his Prin... uhm, I mean, to Loki.

Loki nearly jumped out of his skin when, three days after Tony left for Japan, he heard a noise which could be roughly described as music, even though it was way too loud and lacked harmony.

He looked around to find the source of the noise, and it didn't take him long to find it. He took his phone and answered it.

“What have you done, Stark?!”

“Are you asking because I can't be calling you if I'm not in trouble, or because-”

“The _ringtone_ , Stark!”

“Oh, that's Black Sabbath. The song's called Iron Man. Cool, eh?”

“No. It's not.”

“Come on, Loki. You're no fun!”

“How have you even managed to change my ringtone, you annoying brat?”

“Oh, so I'm a brat now?”

“Stark!”

“Uhm, I don't know if you've noticed, but that's a StarkPhone you've got. And what's more, it's a StarkPhone built for The Avengers. That means that Jarvis can access it anytime I order him to, and make... slight changes.”

“I see,” Loki smirked.

“I can do anything. Almost anything. I can tell Jarvis to upload a photo of my dick into your phone and set it as a wallpaper.”

“And is it really necessary?”

“Fair's fair. I've seen your dick.”

“Stark, are you _drunk_?”

“Maybe a little.”

“Wait. _When_ did you see my dick?!”

“Oh, Loki. Loki, Loki, Loki...”

 

Thirty minutes later, Loki walked into the kitchen in Thor's flat, phone up to his ear, apparently listening.

“Oh, yes. Definitely. It's seriously boring here,” he said after a while.

Thor blinked when his brother nonchalantly poured himself a glass of orange juice.

“No. No. Yes, I know I am not allowed to go crazy. But you see, there is no one to have this kind of conversation with. I cannot bother Natasha all the time.”

Thor's eyes followed Loki as he turned on his heel and headed for the door again.

“What do you mean I bother _you_ all the time, you ungrateful prick? You're the one bothering _me_!”

Thor shook his head and grinned.

“No, it's not my plan to make you go bankrupt, you were the one who called me, I didn't need to hear your annoying voice!”

 

The door of Tony's suite opened before Pepper, and the inventor gestured to her to come in with a hand that wasn't holding his phone.

“ _My_ annoying voice, yeah? You are such a bastard. My voice is not annoying.”

She sighed and entered the suite.

“Even worse on the phone? Iron Man's gonna beat your skinny ass for _that_ , sweetie.”

Pepper started tapping her right foot on the ground, but Tony paid no attention to her.

“You mean including the horns? I haven't seen the horns for a _long_ time.”

“Tony-” Pepper tried, but Tony held up his index finger to keep her quiet.

“You would stick them _where_?”

“Tony!” said Pepper, a little firmer this time.

The inventor rolled his eyes.

“Look, I'm sorry, but I gotta go. Yeah, I know I said it's almost eleven here, but apparently, someone doesn't understand that, right, Pepper?”

“You have one minute to end that conversation, Tony.”

“And now she's threatening me. Right, sorry. I'll call you tomorrow. Bye, Loki.”

He ended the call and looked at Pepper.

“I was having fun, you know?”

“With Loki?” she asked. “You told me you were befriending him, not...”

“Not what?”

“Nothing.”

“Not _what_ , Pepper?!”

“You know, Tony,” she sighed. “You know damn well.”

“No, I don't actually. So if you could-”

“I need to talk to you about business, Tony,” she said. “There are some contracts we need to discuss, and we won't have much time tomorrow...”

 

Tony was nearly hanging up when Loki finally answered the phone the second time.

“Stark?” he said.

“Hey, Lokes.”

“You said tomorrow.”

“Yeah, sorry. I just... Am I bothering you?”

“As always. What's wrong?”

“Why do you think there's anything wrong?”

“Because you said you'd call tomorrow, but you're calling now, and it must be... what, after midnight in Japan? And you've only been gone for three days, Stark. Are you missing me _that_ much?”

“Right now? Yeah.”

“Anthony...”

“It's just... I don't know,” Tony sighed. “It's all weird. It's all so bloody weird.”

“What, Anthony?”

“Pepper,” Tony muttered. “You know we were together, don't you?”

“Of course I do. And I kind of figured that you are not together anymore.”

“Well aren't you my clever little Princess? But you have no idea why we're not together.”

“No, but I _think_ it had something to do with the Iron Man.”

“Hell, you're scaring me.”

“Do you want to tell me?”

“It was... Well, it was just as you said, all because of the Iron Man. I mean... She always knew why it was so important for me to _be_ Iron Man and for the world to _have_ Iron Man. And she tried to be understanding and supportive, but... I guess it's pretty hard to be with someone like me and just watch how I'm always putting my life in danger and I'm never there when she needs me... She told me there were times when she hated the suit more than anything. She just... she couldn't take it anymore. And I don't blame her. Pepper's great, she's bloody _amazing_. The most amazing woman I know, but please, don't tell Natasha. The point is... she deserves so much better than me.”

“Anthony.”

“She does. Probably everyone would deserve much better. Except for you, of course.”

“You can't be feeling _that_ terrible if you can still make jokes.”

“I don't think so. Jokes are just a reflex to me. The fact that I make a joke doesn't mean that I am happy or anything. You probably know what I'm talking about.”

“Almost too well,” Loki sighed. “Tell me, what is weird about her?”

“Pepper? I think that's obvious. You know, when we broke up, I convinced her to stay in Stark Industries, to remain my CEO. I told her that even though we may... not be together anymore, I still need her to keep my company going. She likes the job, so she... she agreed. Most of the time, it's fine, but when I have to go on a business trip like this...”

“You want to get back to her?”

“I... I don't know. It's occurred to me a few times, but the thought never lasts more than a few minutes. I'm not an idiot, Loki. I know some things just cannot work. And as I said, I am not good enough for her, anyway.”

“If you were anywhere near me, I would _strangle you_ right now,” Loki muttered.

“What? Why?”

“Because if you think you're not good enough for someone, you are a bloody _idiot_ , Stark. You are _Iron Man_. You are the man who had the guts to threaten me without his armor on, even though he knew I could kill him single-handedly if I wished to. You are the man who flew a nuclear missile through my portal and destroyed the Chitauri army, even though he knew it was probably a one-way trip. You are brave, and one of the most intelligent persons I have ever met. You have a great sense of humor and you are wonderfully witty, even though you can be an asshole sometimes. And you are stupid and stubborn and childish and annoying, but that is just... you. Just Tony Stark. And if someone doesn't like some part of you, if they want you to change, then _you_ are not the one not good enough.”

“Wow,” Tony murmured. “I guess that was probably the best motivational speech I have ever heard.”

“Did it work?”

“No. No, it didn't, sorry. But thanks, now I have a feeling not even you would deserve someone like me.”

“That is bullshit, Anthony, and you know it.”

“Please, stop. We have a deal. Don't call me Anthony.”

“Stark.”

“I think I should go to bed. Well, go to sleep, since I am in bed. I'll feel better when I wake up.”

“Don't you dare-”

“Thanks for the chat, Prin... Loki.”

“Anthony, I'm telling you-”

Tony ended the call, switched his phone off and really tried to fall asleep.

He wasn't very successful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you for the comments under the previous chapter, they really mean a lot to me. :) This chapter took me a bit longer than I've expected (my beloved migraines have apparently decided to come back to me and I have spent most of yesterday's evening with a wonderful headache, yay!), and the next probably isn't going to be much better. And I really should start working on my FrostIron bang, if I want to make it in time. So please, be patient with me, I swear that I will try to bring these two idiots to you as often as I possibly can. :)


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An apology, another chat on the phone and a bit of sparring with a not exactly happy Natasha. Loki's morning certainly isn't boring...

Loki sighed when, once again, his phone started to play the annoying song.

It _was_ annoying. Absolutely and completely annoying. He didn't like it _at all_.

He picked up the phone.

“What do you want, Stark?”

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, don't be mad at me, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.”

“You know, you wouldn't need to apologize so often if you weren't such an idiot,” said Loki.

“I know, I'm sorry for being an idiot.”

“Stark.”

“Please, just don't be mad.”

“Because of you hanging up on me yesterday?”

“Princess...”

“I think you meant 'Loki', my dear _Anthony_ ,” the god smirked.

“Did I fuck up bad, or did I just... fuck up?” Tony muttered.

“Let's say that after you hung up, I had a strong urge to summon your clone and throw him out of the window.”

“So I just fucked up.”

“Will you tell me what was it about?”

“Damned if I know,” said Tony. “I guess it was just because of, well, Pepper.”

“You don't say.”

“Hush, you smartass. It's... it was late and I'd had a few drinks and she was sitting next to me and she looked so nice and... You know, when we were together, I really loved her. She was my everything. It nearly destroyed me when we broke up. But I don't love her anymore, well, I do, but just as a friend, and I don't want to get her back, I just kind of want to... I don't know.”

“Turn back time, erase the last few years and just be happy again?”

“How the heck do you know?”

“How do you think I feel most of the time, Anthony? About my family, about Asgard, about everything? I don't want Odin to accept me as his son, I don't want to be _allowed_ to go back home, I only want to be back in that time when I thought I _was_ his son and Asgard was _really_ my home. And I have felt that way about some of my past lovers, of course.”

“Like the ambassador of... whatever?”

“Oh, no. That was just about the sex. I waved him goodbye and found someone else.”

“Because you're Asgard's biggest whore.”

“I am not. Have you ever heard about Amora?”

“Uhm, no?”

“She is clearly Asgard's biggest whore. But I have to admit that she often uses her spells to lure men into her bed, while I rely only on my seduction skills.”

“Which, I guess, are pretty good.”

“Probably as good as yours.”

“Probably as good as mine _were_ ,” Tony sighed. “I haven't tried to seduce anyone in... Oh, I don't know. I think it's been a few months since I had sex.”

“In that case, I understand why does miss Potts suddenly seem more attractive to you.”

“You are a terrible person, Loki. How long it's been since _you_ had sex?”

“I don't know. I had a few lovers during my stay in Asgard. I mean... before the battle with Thanos. Sometimes, I just left a clone in Odin's bed and sneaked out of the palace disguised as a guard or a young maid. I fucked whoever I wished to fuck and went back to being Odin. Obviously, that ended about a month before the battle, so-”

“Are you ever horny, Loki?”

“Every time I wear my full armor.”

“Idiot.”

“My self-control is very good, Anthony.”

“I am horny. I am horny as hell.”

“Have you been drinking?”

“I should go and find someone to fuck, right here, right now.”

“What's stopping you?”

“Pepper. I'm not allowed to go out. No clubbing, no drinking, no one night stands, just business, business, business.”

“Sounds very boring.”

“It _is_ very boring.”

“But you _are_ drinking.”

“Sssh. Pepper doesn't know that.”

“Why are you even drinking? You don't drink when you're at home.”

“I used to drink at home. Lots. Well, not enough to be drunk, of course, but yeah, I used to drink pretty much everyday. Until Thor dragged you into _my tower_. Since then, I've been keeping my guard up and trying to guess _when_ you're gonna stab us in the back, or working too hard to forget about you. You can't be drunk when there's a homicidal god sleeping just two floors under your own bedroom.”

“I really do adore you, Stark.”

“But when we started to... get along... Gosh, it's been just a few days, hasn't it? Why does it feel like an eternity? Oh, never mind. Since _then_ , I have always been entertained. It's hard to be bored with you around, you know? When I'm not bored, I don't need to drink. Well, except for that little private drinking party of ours. Unfortunately, you can't stop me from being bored when I'm here and you're there.”

“We can talk,” Loki suggested. “On the phone. Would that keep you entertained?”

“Don't you have better things to do?”

“I don't think so. Not for... an hour or so. Or as long as you wish.”

“Princess, you're a star.”

“ _Princess_ , my dear Anthony?”

“Oh, shut up.”

“Would that be wise? The conversation might get pretty boring if I am not talking.”

“I miss you, you know? I really do. I miss this.”

“You will be back soon, Anthony.”

“I know. Shit, what's wrong with me? It's like I was PMSing or something.”

“I swear I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“Sometimes I forget you're an alien, babe.”

“Sometimes I forget that you are such an asshole, my dear...”

 

Natasha wasn't really shocked when Loki arrived into the gym half an hour late. When he finally appeared, she just got to her feet and stretched her back.

“So, how's Tony?”

“How do you know who I was talking to?” Loki frowned. “Oh, right, sorry. I suppose Jarvis told you.”

“Jarvis told me you're on the phone,” she nodded. “And there are not _that_ many people outside this tower you might be talking to. So how is he?”

“Oh, I don't know. Not very happy. Seriously bored, and Pepper, I mean, miss Potts...”

“Has he been drinking again?”

“A little.”

“I told him not to keep her in the company. I _did_. But it's always the same, every fucking time they go on a business trip, he ends up depressed because he's lost her, and everything was his fault, and he was never there for her, and she is so perfect... Fuck it.”

Loki only narrowly avoided the kick aimed for his head.

“How did we go from talking to fighting?” he smirked as he tried to trip her up.

“We didn't, we went to talking _and_ fighting,” she said as she kicked him right in the shin.

“Oh. Right,” he replied without even wincing.

“Don't get me wrong here, I like Potts. She's good. She's just not good for Tony, you know? I don't mean not good _enough_ , just not good. They're not good for each other, in fact. He was driving her insane with his constant irresponsibility and she was driving him insane with her attempts to make him more _mature_. Come on, he's Tony Stark, no matter how hard you try, he's always gonna make stupid jokes, stay up whole night to finish a project and put his life in danger because he thinks it's a _right thing to do_. Do what you want, that is _not_ gonna change.”

Loki had seriously no idea how he ended up on his back on the floor, but somehow, he did.

“That's cheating, Natasha,” he complained.

“What is?” she frowned.

“You were distracting me.”

“I was not. I was just ranting a little. Get up, you little girl.”

Loki growled and sat up.

“You might not be distracting me, but I _was_ being distracted.”

“It's not my fault that whenever someone talks about Tony, you can't focus on anything else.”

“Excuse me, agent? I was merely surprised by the things you were saying. Or, in fact, _not_ saying.”

“Like... what?”

“I never knew you actually liked Anthony,” he said as he was getting back on his feet. “You make fun of him all the time-”

“So do you.”

“I always thought you... tolerate him because he is one of your teammates and he pays for some of your stuff and lets you stay in his tower. But I was wrong. You love him. You genuinely love him.”

“Of course we do. He might be an idiot, but he is _our_ idiot. Have you really thought we _hated him_ or something?!”

“No, I'm not saying that, I just-”

With that, he ended up on his back for the second time.

“Now, Loki,” Natasha smirked. “Do you have some _other_ thoughts to share?”

Loki shook his head.

“I think that for my own safety, I will say no, thank you.”

“Good. Now get up and concentrate. I wanted to spar, not just kick your ass...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember how I said I should really work on my FrostIron Bang? No, that one didn't work out very well. I managed a few hundred words, before this thing lured me right back. Oh, never mind, tomorrow's a day, too. (Except I won't be at home. The day after tomorrow's a day, too...) With that said, the next chapter is definitely going to take a bit longer. (Yeah, as definitely as Tony's not going to call Loki Princess again...) :D  
> As always, thank you very much for all your lovely comments! :)


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony has a little argument with Pepper, Cap's in a really bad mood and someone wants to destroy New York again. Also, more of the definitely-not-flirting. And Loki might be a teeny tiny bit present during the big fight...

Tony sat on the back seat of the car and shut the door behind him. He grinned at the ginger woman sitting next to him. She raised her eyebrow.

“Seriously, Tony?”

The billionaire sighed and took a large gulp of his coffee.

“Seriously what?” he asked.

“You've been talking to Loki again, haven't you?”

“I don't know what you mean.”

“Tony, for the past week, you have been talking to him _every bloody evening_. Don't tell me yesterday was an exception.”

“It was,” he said and pushed his sunglasses higher up on his nose.

“Is that why you look like a zombie?”

“Not like a zombie, actually. I think it's more like a vampire. It's terribly late for us, you know, uh, nine AM. I should be sleeping in my coffin.”

“I can guarantee you an _eternal_ sleep in your coffin if you spend another night on the phone with Loki.”

“I haven't spent the whole night on the phone. Just until three or something.”

“Tony...” she sighed. “You knew this meeting's important.”

“So?”

“So you are not supposed to walk in looking like a zombie-”

“Vampire.”

“Frankly, Tony, but right now, you look like a _zombie vampire_ , yes.”

“Ouch.”

She shook her head and looked out of the window.

“Have you forgotten who is the man you're so head over heels for?”

“No, I haven't, and I'm _not_ head over heels for him, Pepper!”

“He's a war criminal, Tony. He's one of the main reasons for your panic attacks. He's the one who lead an alien army on New York. He's a psychopath-”

“He's _not_!” Tony growled. “He is everything you said, yes, but he's _not_ a psychopath. He's just the same mess as I am. Am _I_ a psychopath?”

“Sometimes.”

“Pepper.”

“I just want you to know I don't approve of this.”

“And _I_ just want you to know I don't give a fuck.”

“Tony-”

“No. No, Pepper. You're not my boss. In fact, I am _your_ boss. You're not my girlfriend. This is my life. My decisions. If I want to be friends with a dangerous war criminal and occasional psycho, I will fucking be friends with him.”

“This is not about friendship, Tony, and you know it.”

“It _is_ about friendship!”

“Yes? How much time have you spent on the phone with your _other_ friends? How about Bruce, eh? Have you even called him from Japan? And how long it's been since you last spoke to Rhodey?”

“Not your business, Pepper.”

“But you spend every night-”

“Oh, look, we're here. Fucking finally.”

“Tony Stark-”

“You'd better get up. You don't want to be late to that _super important_ meeting of yours. What would... Damn,” he cursed when his phone started ringing.

“You don't want to answer that,” Pepper said.

“Oh, trust me, I do. That's Avengers ringtone,” he muttered and put his phone up to his ear. “Yes?”

 

“Doombots in New York,” Steve in The Avengers Tower said to the phone. “Awful lot of them. We need you right now.”

At the same moment, Bruce stepped out of the elevator.

“Code green?” he asked.

“Code every fucking color of the rainbow,” Steve growled. “Where the hell is Natasha?!”

“She was sparring with Loki again. But she should be on her way now,” said Clint. “By the way, am I the only one who thinks it's very impolite to attack at eight PM? I was looking forward to the movie night!”

“You tell them when you see them,” Steve smirked. “Bruce, you're free to go ahead. Thor's already there, so just follow the lightning.”

“Iron Man is coming?”

“As soon as I can,” said Tony's voice from the ceiling. “On my way right now. And please, remind me to send Doom a thank-you note, because I was just in the middle of a really uncomfortable conversation with Pepper when you called.”

“Less talking, more flying,” Steve replied.

“Sorry, boss, but this thing doesn't go any faster when I don't talk.”

“Well, it definitely should.”

That moment, Loki appeared in the middle of the living room, holding Natasha's shoulder.

“Oh. This is really handy,” the assassin said. “Cap, I'm ready to go.”

“Finally,” he nodded. “Loki, you stay here and stay out of trouble. Understood?”

“Understood,” the god said. “Good luck.”

“Thanks, man,” Clint smiled. “Okay, guys, let's go save the city...”

 

“What the fuck?!” Natasha yelled about ten minutes later, when a Doombot she was just about to destroy suddenly disappeared.

“Uhm, guys, I don't want to cause any panic, but it seems that they can teleport,” came Clint's voice through the comms. “One of them just vanished right before my arrow could hit it.”

“Oh, great,” Steve muttered. “Just what we needed.”

In the common living room of the tower, Loki frowned.

“Teleport?” he repeated. “Jarvis, can I get a comm?”

“The nearest one is in the kitchen, sir. The cupboard next to the fridge.”

“In the _kitchen_? I must say I am not really shocked,” the god smirked.

“God, this is so bloody _annoying_!” Clint growled through the comms.

“Jarvis, please, alert agent Barton that I will teleport to his roof. Thank you.”

 

Thirty seconds later, Loki was standing next to Clint on the roof the archer had chosen as his little base.

“I told you to _stay in the tower,_ didn't I?!” Steve yelled into his ear.

“The mortals are not supposed to have this kind of technology,” said Loki. “I want to know what's going on.”

“I'm keeping an eye on him, Cap,” said Clint. “If he tries anything, I'll put an arrow right through his eye socket, how does that sound?”

“I'm not planning on trying anything,” Loki commented.

“Yeah, but... Loki?”

The god had his eyes closed and his brow furrowed.

“What? What is going on?” asked Steve.

Suddenly Loki turned around, and the same moment, a Doombot appeared right behind Clint. Green light flashed from Loki's hand and the robot collapsed to the ground.

“Oh, _fuck_!” Clint yelled. “How did you know-”

“Slight changes in the air,” the god said. “You feel it when you have the experience with this kind of magic.”

“You just fucking saved my life,” Clint sighed. “Guys? You really should watch your back. One of them appeared behind me and... What the fuck are you doing now?”

“Trying to find out if they really do use technology or if it's magic,” said Loki, his hand glowing green above the robot.

“Is it important?” Clint asked.

“A little. I might be able to stop them from teleporting, but I need to know what I am dealing with.”

“I am not sure we got your Avengers application form, Loki!” said Steve.

“Have you ever heard the saying 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth', Cap?” asked Tony. “If Princess wants to be an Avenger, let him be an Avenger. Hi, Princess, by the way.”

“Hello, Anthony,” Loki smiled. “But for the record, I don't want to be an Avenger. I just want to know how is it possible that some Midgardian possesses something like this.”

“No, baby, you're gonna be an Avenger.”

“Save the flirting for later, Stark. Where the hell are you?!”

“Oh, Cap, but you are a grumpy grandpa today, aren't you?”

 

“Princess, don't wanna rush you or anything-”

“Working on it!”

“Could you perhaps work on it a bit faster?”

“Working on it as fast as I can, but it's magic _mixed_ with technology and not so easy to-”

“And here I thought you were _clever_.”

“Oh, don't you dare, Stark!”

“Loki, you dick,” Clint smirked. “And you didn't even show me the ring.”

“Funny, Barton,” Loki muttered. “Please, just shut up, and you too, Stark. I need to concentrate.”

“Fine. Because it's fucking annoying how they just vanish right before you can hit them.”

“I _know_ , Anthony. Just stop talking!”

“Whatever my Princess wants.”

Loki closed his eyes and tried very hard to focus on his task. He felt the threads of the spell between his fingers. The bots' creator made them use Yggdrasil to travel, perhaps unknowingly. Loki didn't understand why. There were much better methods to be used for such short distances, methods that don't require that much energy. On the other hand, this was good news. Everything Loki needed to do was cut their access to the tree and they would-

“Fuck, Thor, don't!”

Loki's eyes snapped open. On the roof of the nearby building, he saw a Doombot standing behind Iron Man, and Mjölnir flying straight to them.

The bot disappeared a fraction of second before the hammer could hit him, so it collided with the back of the red and gold helmet instead.

Loki's spell started to work at the same moment Tony fell to the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, I might want to go and find a safe place to hide, right? I'm terribly sorry for the cliffhanger. I promise the next chapter won't take that long. Probably. Uhm... Sorry again. I still love you? 0:)


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is injured and it's Thor's fault. Loki isn't going to let his brother get away with it that easily. Also, Thor thinks he knows what's going on in Loki's head...

He didn't move. It had been several seconds and his body was still completely motionless and his comm remained silent. No swearing, no grunting, no complaining.

“Anthony,” Loki gasped.

“Oh, fuck, this isn't good,” Clint muttered.

One moment, Loki was there, right next to the archer, and hardly a blink of an eye later he was on the same roof as Tony, kneeling beside the billionaire and hesitantly reaching for his shoulder.

“What happened?” Steve demanded. “Fuck, talk to me, someone!”

“Uhm, a little accident,” Clint said. “Tony got hit with Thor's hammer. I hope he's just unconscious, but... It was a fucking large hit.”

In the meantime, Loki turned Tony around, so he was lying on his back. Then, with a strange gesture of his fingers, Loki made the surprisingly intact helmet disappear. He completely ignored his brother, who was just standing there, stunned by shock.

“Loki,” said Thor, quietly.

“Don't,” Loki growled and pressed his glowing fingers against Tony's temples. “Don't you dare talking to me you _stupid oaf_!”

“It was... It was an accident.”

“Of course it was. It's always an accident. Like when I spent a whole day unconscious after you _accidentally_ hit me over the head during our training. Because that is just what you do, you swing that stupid hammer first, and only _then_ you think about the consequences! You are an idiot, Thor, a complete _idiot_! I don't know how did you even survive your childhood. I don't understand how is it possible that you didn't _accidentally_ suffocate yourself with your own blanket in your cradle! No, I don't know how _I_ survived our childhood when one of the first things I remember is you beating me over the head with a book!”

“Loki, please-”

“No, shut up. _Shut up, Thor_!” Loki yelled. “I've had enough. You nearly killed your teammate, just because you're so _bloody stupid_! But let me tell you, if he dies, or if anything happens to his brain, then Norns help me, I will become worthy of your fucking hammer just to crack your fucking skull open to see how it's fucking possible that you are alive when you have _no fucking brain_!”

“Wow,” croaked Tony's weak voice. “That didn't sound very worthy.”

“Anthony,” Loki sighed. “Oh, thank Norns.”

“I must say this is much better than the last time I woke up like this,” the billionaire smirked. “If I pretend I'm dead, could I get some CPR? Oh, shit, forget about that, my brain's not working properly. Did anyone get the number of that hammer?”

“I take it that Stark's fine,” said Natasha through the comms.

“Don't sound so disappointed, honey.”

“I'm not. You still haven't finished my new Stings.”

“Love you too, Natasha,” Tony smiled. “Hey, Princess. Don't look so scared. I'm fine.”

“You are not,” Loki muttered. “You have suffered a concussion.”

“You don't say.”

“I am trying to find out if your brain is bleeding.”

“I am fine, Princess. I swear. I've been much worse than this. Though my head hurts like hell.”

“Just let me check, okay?”

“Whatever,” Tony sighed. “Gosh, I want to sleep. And I want to go home. Just get into my bed and sleep, yes...”

“I can get you into your bed. The tower isn't that far away, I can teleport you there.”

“Do it,” said Steve. “We will take care of the bots, now they've finally stopped vanishing all the time.”

“Come on, then,” said Loki and touched Tony's forehead. “I will leave the suit here. I am sure someone can pick it up later.”

“Oh, don't worry, it knows its way back home,” Tony smiled. “Just take me to my bed.”

 

A few minutes (and some arguing) later, Tony was indeed lying in his bed. He had even managed to change into his pajamas. (In fact, most of the arguing was about Tony being able or unable to change his clothes himself. Tony won.)

He was lying on his side with his eyes shut. He didn't want to admit it to Loki, but he was feeling terrible. His head was spinning and the headache was almost unbearable. He was about to vomit, he knew he was about to vomit, but he also knew that if he _does_ vomit, Loki will know just how bad the concussion is. For some reason, Tony didn't want him to know.

He just wanted to enjoy Loki's fingers in his hair, the only thing keeping him at least partially sane.

“No bleeding,” Loki commented and Tony grunted when god's fingers left his head. “You don't know how lucky you are.”

“I don't feel very lucky.”

“If I was a better healer, I would fix it,” Loki sighed. “But I could at least speed up the natural process of healing a little. You could be all right at least twice as fast.”

“Can you screw up?”

“No, I can't.”

“Fine. What are you waiting for, then?”

“Your permission.”

“You've got it. Also, you've got the permission to make the pain go away a little, if you can do that.”

“I can.”

“Fine. Be my personal painkiller, please.”

Loki's fingers were back in his hair and it felt so bloody good, almost as good as the pain slowly leaving his head, or maybe better than that. Damn, he was confused.

“There,” the god whispered. “It will be all right.”

“Can I...” Tony croaked. “Can I ask you for something?”

“You can try.”

“Hug me?”

“What?”

“Please. I... I just want to be hugged when I feel like shit, and right now, I feel like shit. Please, just hug me. From behind. I want to be the little spoon.”

“Whatever my Anthony wants, my Anthony gets.”

Tony smiled when he felt Loki's arms wrap around him. This was nice. This was much nicer than he had expected. And when Loki buried his nose into his hair...

“Thanks, Princess,” Tony murmured. “You're the best.”

It didn't take him long to fall asleep.

 

Loki had no idea how much time had passed before he forced himself to let go of Tony and teleport to the common living room. To his surprise, he found all of the remaining Avengers there, apparently waiting for him.

“Loki,” said Natasha. “How is he?”

“Sleeping,” the god replied. “I sped up the healing process with my magic, just a little. He should recover quickly.”

“Good. That's good,” Steve nodded.

“Are you sure there's nothing wrong with his brain?” Bruce frowned. He was awfully pale.

“He's Tony Stark. There is definitely something wrong with his brain,” Loki smirked. “But nothing out of the ordinary. And yes, I am sure. I have checked. Twice.”

“Loki,” Thor muttered.

“Don't you dare talking to me,” Loki growled. “You are the one responsible for this.”

“Loki, please.”

“Don't, Thor. Just _don't_.”

 

Loki knew Thor. He knew him as good as he knew himself.

With that said, he really had no idea why it _surprised_ him when Thor decided to follow him like a kicked puppy when Loki had announced he was going to bed.

Follow him into their shared fat, of course, not to his _bed_.

But even that was too much for Loki.

“Brother,” Thor tried the moment they stepped into their living room.

“We are not brothers,” said Loki.

“Brother, please. I am _sorry_.”

“He could have been dead, Thor. Do you understand that? He could have been dead, just because you are not able to use your _brain_.”

“I have made a mistake, yes. I know that.”

“A _mistake_?”

“Do you realize that I shouldn't be apologizing to you, brother?”

“I haven't heard you apologizing to Anthony.”

“I will apologize to him when he feels better and he is not asleep.”

“Oh, of course. How convenient-”

“Loki,” Thor sighed.

“What?” the younger god growled.

“You think that I don't know what is going on here, am I right?”

“What are you talking about, you giant oaf?”

“I know you, brother. There is a reason for this overreacting.”

“Who is overreacting?”

“You are. You know that you are.”

“You are even more stupid than I have thought. Just because everyone else laughs at your stupidity-”

“They certainly didn't laugh. Captain threatened to shove his shield in places I certainly don't want it to be, Bruce said that I should be glad that he learned about the whole accident _after_ changing back into his human form, Clint promised me that the next time, he would use me as a practice target, and Natasha was just sitting there and shaking her head, which was certainly the most terrifying reaction. Well, except for yours, of course. You can be more scary than the whole Chitauri army if you want.”

“You think _that_ was scary? You haven't seen anything, dear brother.”

Thor clasped his brother's shoulder and smiled.

“I know what is going on with you, Loki,” he said. “Everyone thinks it is just a joke, but I _know_ that it is not.”

Loki rolled his eyes.

“Oh, shut up, you oaf.”

“I am truly sorry. Please, Loki.”

“If you do something like that again, I am going to cut off your dick and feed it to Fenrir. And now, I believe that you owe me a little favor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now you believe me when I say I love you? :D I mean, I had planned to update tomorrow rather than today, but then I decided that I really shouldn't keep you waiting after a cliffhanger like that, so (as Loki would say)... TA-DAA! :D I hope that you like it, at least a little bit. :D The next chapter is definitely going to take longer than this one, but don't worry, it won't be *too* long. ;)  
> And as always, thank you so so much for all your wonderful comments! :)


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A nice, quiet morning in the Avengers Tower. Well, maybe not so quiet. There's some usual brotherly arguing, some worries about Tony and some Doctor Who. Yeah, and there's also one little thing...

-More coffee?- Natasha signed.

Clint nodded.

“Why is he not wearing the wristband again?” asked Steve.

“Forgot it on the nightstand, too lazy to go back,” she answered.

“I know you're talking shit about me!” the archer commented.

Natasha shrugged, took his coffee mug and got to her feet.

The elevator door slid open and both of the resident gods walked into the living room.

“But Loki-” Thor was saying.

“No, you can get your breakfast in Asgard. I am sure that Odin will throw a large feast in your honor!”

“But I am hungry now!”

“You shouldn't have eaten everything from the fridge again. Seriously, Thor, one day, you are going to eat the fridge itself.”

“But I could just-”

“You nearly killed Anthony, you giant oaf, and now you want to sit here and eat breakfast when he is in so much pain?”

“But I am not going to Asgard because of him, I am going because-”

“Because I told you to, that's right, and I am telling you to go _now_.”

“But I am sure that _you_ are supposed to fulfill _my_ orders, not the other way around.”

“You owe me a debt!”

“For not killing me for nearly killing your favorite mortal?”

“That is the one,” Loki nodded and pushed his brother forward. “Come on, Thor. Walk.”

“But Loki-”

“I swear, Thor, if you say ' _but_ ' one more time, I am going to throw you into the sea, so you can say hi to Jormungandr.”

“Stop threatening me with your-”

“Just _walk_.”

The door leading to the terrace opened, seemingly on their own, before them.

“Loki, there is no need-”

“Do you remember what are you supposed to tell Odin?”

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

“Repeat it to me, Thor,” Loki smirked. “I don't trust you until I've heard it.”

“Loki asks if he is forbidden to learn new magic spells,” Thor sighed. “If not, he would like to improve his healing skills. Since he cannot go to Asgard and receive a proper training, he needs some books from Asgard's library to learn from. And since he doesn't know anything about healing-”

“I know _some_ things!”

“-he asks if a trained healer could find him the right ones with the basics. I _know_ what I am supposed to say, Loki.”

“Yes, after all, even a bilgesnipe can be trained to obey simple orders...”

“That was mean, Loki.”

With that, Thor was pushed to the middle of the large circle created by the previous uses of the Bifrost. Loki took several steps back.

“Heimdall!” he then shouted. “Open the bridge for the prince of Asgard!”

“Do you really think that he will obey _your_ -”

The Bifrost opened and swallowed a quite surprised looking Thor.

“Yes, I do,” Loki nodded when it disappeared. Then he turned around and walked back into the common living room. “Is there anything left for breakfast?”

“What was that about?” Steve blinked.

“Oh, nothing. Don't worry, he will be back soon,” Loki grinned. “I just had to send him to... run some errands for me, since, as we all know, I am a _persona non grata_ in Asgard.”

“You want to become a better healer?” asked Natasha. “Just because of Tony's accident?”

“No. Healing is something I have been planning to learn for a very long time, even though I lack the natural talent for it. I will just have to work harder.”

“Yes, of course,” she smiled. “By the way, Tony was calling for Bruce about twenty minutes ago, through Jarvis, of course. I think he's fine, but you might want to go check on-”

Within a blink of an eye, Loki wasn't standing there anymore.

“-him when you've had your breakfast,” she finished. “This is getting really ridiculous.”

“Yes,” Steve nodded. “It is.”

“You have told him about Tony, right?” asked Clint. “I think I can hear the wedding bells in the future...”

-You're deaf,- Natasha signed.

“Am I?” Clint blinked. “Oh, that explains a lot...”

 

“Are you sure I can go, Tony?”

“Yup, I'm fine. Almost completely fine,” the billionaire nodded and lay down on the couch. “I've got food, I've got coffee, I've got everything I need. But if you meet Loki-”

“Anthony, are you well?”

“Yeah, forget it, Brucie. Hi, Princess, I'm great. You're a true miracle. I mean, I still have a headache and I'm a bit nauseous, but I should be much, much worse.”

“Oh, thank Norns,” Loki said and sat down next to the couch. “I was afraid that you might be worse when I heard that you wanted to see Bruce.”

“I just knew that he would come and check on me, anyway,” Tony winked, and frowned immediately after that. “Ouch, I get it, no winking.”

“And no reading, no spending time on your tablet, no _workshop_ ,” Bruce said. “You shouldn't even watch TV too much.”

“What am I supposed to do, then? Stare at the ceiling?”

“I don't know. Ask Loki to read a book out loud to you. Norse mythology, he might like that.”

“Oh, yes, I _would_ like that, actually,” Loki nodded.

“Are you going to keep me company, Princess?” Tony pouted. “ _Please_ , say yes. Bruce wants to leave me, he wants to work on some experiment of his and I would be here all alone...”

“Hey, I _asked_ you if-”

“Shush, Greenie. Space Princess? We could watch some more Doctor Who, well, you could watch and I could listen...”

“Of course that I will stay,” Loki smiled and Tony nearly purred when the god's fingers somehow found their way into his hair. “You still owe me several seasons of it, my dear Anthony.”

“We're gonna work on that right now,” Tony nodded. “Have you had breakfast? Jarvis have already ordered food for me, so you should find something in the fridge. And Bruce made me coffee.”

“Okay,” said Bruce. “I think I will leave you two alone and go work on that experiment. Tony, if you feel weird...”

“Yes, yes, I'll call you immediately,” the inventor said. “Bye, Bruce. Princess, go find something for breakfast and sit in the armchair. Jarvis, where are we in Doctor Who?”

 

Two episodes later, Loki went to get them some more coffee and somehow ended up sitting on the floor in front of Tony's couch again.

Half an episode later, Tony's fingers suddenly decided to touch Loki's hair, pet it, play with it...

“Mhm, Anthony,” the god murmured.

“Sorry, do you... Do you mind?” asked Tony. “I just... Your hair looks really nice. And it's so soft and long...”

“No, I don't mind at all. It feels very good. Relaxing...”

And so, Tony's fingers stayed in Loki's hair for another twenty minutes. When the episode ended, Loki was so relaxed that he was about to doze off any second.

“Hey, Space Princess,” Tony laughed, softly. “Don't fall asleep on me.”

“Mhm, I'm not on you, Stark,” Loki grunted.

“You know what I mean. You're supposed to sleep at night.”

“Sorry, I was too busy explaining Thor what he needs to do repay me for nearly killing you.”

“Why would he have to repay _you_?”

“Interesting, he didn't ask that question. He doesn't  _ have to _ , of course. I just used your injury to make my brother do something for me.”

“Oh, you bad, bad Princess...”

“Are we going to watch another episode or what, Anthony?”

“Do you want to?”

“I don't want you to be bored. And yes, I want to watch. It's very interesting.”

“Yeah, you're the only one in this tower who thinks that. My Space Princess, the only one who understands me...”

Loki turned his head so he could look Tony in the face.

“You're a bit dramatic, don't you think?”

“But just a bit,” Tony grinned.

“Let me guess, a teeny tiny bit?”

“You  _ are _ the only one who understands me.”

Loki smiled. He was looking straight into Tony's dark brown eyes, which still had slightly dilated pupils from the concussion, as he noticed. And Tony was staring back at him, his gaze darting only for a second to Loki's lips, then back again to his eyes.

Loki felt his breath speeding up.

Norns, he'd been trying so hard, but this... This was too much.

He closed his eyes and pressed his lips against Tony's. It was a slow, almost chaste kiss, which ended the second Tony leaned into it and started to kiss Loki back.

The god pulled away quickly, nearly jumping backwards, his back colliding with the coffee table.

“Oh, damn. Oh, damn,” he whispered. “Anthony, I am sorry. I am so sorry.”

“What?” Tony blinked. His brain was very slow at realizing what had just happened. “No, wait a minute. Loki-”

“I'm sorry,” Loki repeated.

“No, I said-”

But Loki had already disappeared.

“-wait,” Tony sighed. “Oh, Christ, and who's being dramatic  _ now _ ?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *innocent whistling*  
> Oh, yes, I think you've probably been waiting for this one. Well, it's here. Probably not quite as you imagined it. I am deeply, deeply sorry for that.  
> *more innocent whistling*  
> But remember, I *do* love you!


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor returns from Asgard, Loki keeps avoiding Tony and Tony refuses to let Loki avoid him. One of the two idiots will turn out to be less stubborn.

Thor was standing in the Bifrost observatory, suspiciously regarding a large crate the servants had just brought in.

“That is a lot of books, father,” he muttered.

“Yes. It is. Do not worry, Loki will make sense out of them.”

“I certainly hope so. He will make my life a living nightmare if he doesn't.”

“It seems that he does not care about his sentence at all.”

“No, father, trust me. He does. He is worried and he doesn't want to die. But you know my brother. He is just...”

“Uncontrollable?”

“Yes,” Thor nodded. “And that will never change, no matter what you wish.”

“I know,” Odin sighed. “Tell him to make good use of the books. And Thor?”

“I know, father,” the blonde sighed. “Protecting the mortal does not involve throwing Mjölnir at him.”

“Exactly. Please, remember that.”

 

Thor walked into the common living room, the crate with books in his hands, only to find that not a single Avenger was present.

“Jarvis?” the god frowned.

“Miss Romanov, Mr. Barton and Mr. Rogers are currently training, sir. Mr. Banner is in his laboratory, Mr. Stark is sleeping and Mr. Liesmith is in your living room.”

“He is not with Stark?” asked Thor.

“No, sir.”

“All right. Take me to my brother, please,” the god said as he took the first step towards the elevator.

 

When Thor walked into his flat, Loki was sitting on a couch and staring out of the window.

“Oh. Thor,” he said when he heard the door closing, but didn't turn his head. “Were you successful?”

“You would do better if you looked yourself,” Thor replied.

Loki shot a quick glance at his brother and nodded.

“Interesting. I wasn't expecting  _ that _ .”

Thor put the crate on the floor and sat in the armchair, carefully eying his brother.

“Loki, has something happened?”

“Well, as the mortals would say,” Loki shrugged. “I fucked up. Big time.”

“What?” Thor blinked. “Loki, is... Is something wrong with Anthony's brain?”

“You mean because of my healing? No. No, he is fine,” Loki sighed. “There is definitely something wrong with  _ my _ brain, though.”

“I am afraid I don't understand, brother.”

Loki rubbed his eyes and shook his head.

“I kissed him, Thor. I kissed him...”

 

Thor was the only one to know about the kiss. Loki didn't want to tell anyone else. He didn't even understand why he had told  _ Thor _ , but at least his brother was the only one who would not make stupid jokes about it. Loki was incredibly glad for that.

Of course that the rest of the team soon realized that something was wrong between Loki and Tony. Not on the day the kiss happened, as Tony spent most of it in his bed, sleeping or thinking about  _ what the fuck was that supposed to mean _ . He hoped that Loki would come to visit him again the next day, when he calmed down, but it didn't happen.

They realized roughly twenty-four hours after the kiss. Tony was feeling very much all right. Bruce wasn't so sure about his recovery, but there was no way to make Tony stay in bed when he didn't feel like he was about to die. When the inventor casually walked out of the elevator on the common floor, the dark-haired god, who had been sitting in the armchair and reading one of the asgardian books just a second ago, casually disappeared.

“Okay,” said Clint. “That was weird. Hi, Tony.”

“Is something going on?” Natasha frowned.

“Well, it's Loki,” Tony shrugged. “You never know what's going on in his head. What are we having for lunch?”

But of course that he knew what was going on in Loki's head. It was driving him insane.

 

Another twenty-four hours later, Tony was on the verge of madness. He was sad, angry and very, very confused.

He had tried talking to Loki,  _ several times _ , but every time they even ended up in the same  _ room _ , the god vanished into thin air. Tony wanted to kill him. Or tie him up. He even considered asking Thor to  _ accidentally _ drop Mjölnir on his brother's foot, so Loki wouldn't be able to move.

He decided to make one last attempt, just one, before giving up. This time, he found Loki on the roof, his usual hiding spot. When Tony walked out of the elevator, Loki didn't acknowledge his presence at all. He seemed too busy staring at the city underneath him. That was good. In a way.

Tony took a few silent steps forward and stood right behind Loki. He took a deep breath, prayed that he won't be blasted into another state the next second, and grabbed Loki's arms.

“It's me, Princess,” he quickly said. “Just me.”

“I know it's you,” the god muttered. “What do you want, Stark?”

“My sort-of-friend Loki back,” the inventor replied. “And it's Anthony.”

“Stark...” Loki sighed.

“I came to tell you that I want to go back to the workshop. Thanks to Tasha, I got my hands on one of that Doombots. I want to find out everything about their teleporting abilities. Are you still listening to me, yes?”

“Yes,” Loki nodded, his eyes never leaving the city below.

“Fine. The thing is, Princess, you said that the bots used magic  _ and _ technology combined. That means that if I want to understand it, I need a sorcerer. And then of course, you have already found out what they were using, and you managed to stop them. Come on, Princess, I need your help. We need to combine science and magic, too. I am science, you are magic. I want to  _ understand _ . Pretty please?”

“You are so incredibly annoying, mortal.”

“Thanks,” Tony smiled. “Look, about the kiss...”

He could see Loki's body immediately tensing.

“That didn't happen,” said the god.

“Fine. Fine,” Tony sighed and lightly stroked Loki's arms with his thumbs. “I can do that, if that's what you want. I can pretend it didn't happen. Yeah, what didn't happen?”

“Anthony...”

“Please, come to the workshop with me.  _ Pleeease _ .”

Loki closed his eyes and slowly nodded.

“All right. Let's go.”

 

He had been sitting in the workshop and listening to Tony's theories for ten minutes, and he already wanted to strangle the mortal who apparently had no idea what he was talking about. It was interesting, of course, to watch him try to make sense of teleportation, but on the other hand...

“No. No. No,” Loki shook his head. “Enough, Anthony. Please, shut up. I can't listen to this anymore.”

“What?” Tony blinked. “Sorry, I'm just saying what I  _ think _ is-”

“I know. But it's all  _ wrong _ .”

“Yeah?” Tony smirked and folded his arms over his chest. “Come on then. Tell me how it  _ really _ is. That's why I brought you here, so you can  _ explain _ . I don't know anything about this shit, but you do. It's your area of expertise, isn't it?”

“It is,” Loki nodded. “Yes. I am very proud to say that I know Yggdrasil like no one else does. I know all the secret paths, every little branch, better than Odin himself.”

“Fine. Great. So tell me-”

“Do you think that I can explain it just like that?” Loki laughed. “I have been gaining that knowledge for decades, perhaps even hundreds of years. I cannot simply tell you what I know.”

“Well, tell me about this,” said Tony and pointed at the bot. “How did they teleport?”

“A piece of technology activated by magic, able to connect to Yggdrasil and use it to travel. Incredibly stupid, at least for what their creator apparently wanted to achieve. You don't need to use the branches of Yggdrasil if you don't want to cross hundreds of miles. There are other ways, but you need to study them. Using the World tree is simpler, but it requires more energy. And of course, these robots are the only beings able to use the paths repeatedly in such a short time span, because while a mortal should be able to survive the trip once, maybe twice, the third time would definitely kill them. Even I wouldn't be able to teleport as many times as they did.”

“Wouldn't you?”

“Of course not, Anthony. My... My body is used to traveling like that, yes. But it took a long time to learn it. Did you know that I started as a child? I found the basic spell in a book, and I was fascinated by it. I wanted to try it out. I teleported from my chambers to Thor's, and immediately fainted. My body wasn't able to handle it. I slept for a whole day. Mother was screaming at me for twenty minutes when I woke up, and Thor followed me everywhere I went for at least a month, in case I passed out again.”

“Oh, cute little Loki overestimating his abilities?” Tony grinned.

“Shut up,” Loki growled. “The point is, one short trip cannot kill you, but it will certainly make your life very unpleasant. Like... remember the teleporters the Guardians of the Galaxy had? Short-distanced, too. Several miles is a limit for your mortal bodies, then you start feeling all the bad effects. Headache, nausea, drowsiness.”

“That's why you couldn't bring Clint and Cap and Natasha from Russia?”

“Yes. They would probably all end up unconscious.”

“But you can...”

“My body is used to this, I told you. I have traveled between the worlds, repeatedly, all my life. Because I wanted to. Because I wanted to see all the secrets of the nine realms. I took Thor with me, several times. For shorter trips, of course. But I... I have walked through most of the universe. I spent days between the branches of Yggdrasil, and I swear, it is one of the most wonderful things I have ever seen. It's not like the void, not at all. It's... there is black sky, yes, and stars, but... But you can see the veins of the universe, too, pulsing with energy, golden light everywhere, and colorful clouds full of raw power, and there is no real path beneath your legs, but you still feel that there  _ is _ one, and...”

He shook his head and fell silent.

“You...” Tony cleared his throat. “You miss it, don't you?”

“You cannot imagine how much.”

“I think I can,” Tony smiled. “You know, you look so... so passionate when you talk about it. About your magic.”

“You look passionate when you talk about science,” Loki shrugged.

“Yeah...” Tony slid off his high stool and walked over to the god. “You know what, Space Princess? I... I don't think I can just forget about the kiss.”

“Why not?” Loki frowned. “I... I promise that it will not happen again.”

“See? That is exactly the problem.”

“What in the name of-”

He was silenced by Tony's lips pressing against his. And it took him several seconds to collect himself and kiss the inventor back.

And he simply wasn't able to suppress a little moan as he almost instinctively wrapped his arms around Tony's waist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it just me or is this chapter a bit longer than usual? Oh, well, not that I think you mind. :D (And I don't think you mind the current course of events, either, do you?) :D As always, thank you very much for all your wonderful comments and I promise that I will try to get the next chapter online as soon as possible. :)


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some kissing. Some much needed talking. Some working. Really almost nothing happens here. Or does it?

Tony couldn't remember the last time he allowed himself to get so completely lost in a simple kiss. But there he was, grabbing the back of Loki's neck with one hand, having the other one around his waist, kissing the god like there was no tomorrow.

He liked it. Bloody hell, he _loved_ it. Loki was such a good kisser, his lips so soft, his tongue so clever and fast, his hands stroking Tony's back, his breath fast and ragged...

It was as if, at the same time, they were kissing for the whole eternity, and as if no time had passed at all. Tony just wanted to be held and kissed like this, forever. He felt the endorphins flowing through his veins. His head was spinning.

“W-wait,” he suddenly whispered. “Give me a minute.”

Loki's lips left his and went for his cheek instead. And then his jaw. Just under his ear. His neck. This was definitely _not_ better than his lips.

“Oh, okay,” Tony gasped. “I get it. I finally know what you've been planning all that time. You just wanna kill me.”

“No. I don't,” Loki murmured.

“There's no need to deny it, I don't mind. Just go on. This is a very nice way to go. Hey!”

Loki pulled away and bore his gaze into Tony's eyes.

“You annoying, impossible mortal-”

“Oh, no, please, not the window again.”

The god laughed and gently kissed Tony's temple. His lips lingered there for several seconds and Tony found himself closing his eyes.

“Oh, Norns,” Loki whispered. “What am I doing?”

“At the moment, hugging me,” the inventor replied. “And not kissing me, apparently.”

“I... I shouldn't. I really shouldn't,” said Loki.

“Shouldn't what, Princess?”

“Please, don't call me that. Please.”

“Why?” Tony blinked.

“Because when you do, I want to kiss you again and I really _shouldn't_.”

“Why not? I really want you to.”

“Do you?” Loki smirked. “I doubt that.”

“Oh, you're completely right. I don't want you to kiss me, that's why _I_ kissed _you_ a few minutes ago.”

“Listen to me, Anthony-”

“No. You listen to me, Princess,” Tony growled and pulled away from him. “After you disappeared, I mean after the first kiss, I just wasn't able to stop thinking about it. By the way, thinking _hurts_ with a concussion. No, stop. Don't you dare saying anything. I realized a few things, you know? For example that I liked it. A lot. Even though it was just a short kiss. And also that you're incredibly hot. And that I'd thought you were hot for a while. And that you're smart, too. That's obvious, of course. Also, I've realized that I definitely want you to kiss me again. And... sort of fuck me so hard that we break the bed? Oh, I didn't want to say the last part out loud...”

“Are you... Are you serious?”

“Look, I'm not saying that I've suddenly fallen in love with you,” Tony shrugged. “But I'm definitely very, very attracted to you. You're just my type, Loki, and... Yeah, I like you a lot. Not just your face, but your mind, too. Right now, I just keep thinking that I should have stopped hating you a lot sooner, but... Well. By the way, please, don't stab us in the back now, because that would be very embarrassing for me, thanks.”

“Damn. You are ruining my plans for tonight.”

“Loki, I've got other plans for you tonight. If you want, of course.”

“Anthony, are you-”

“Sirs,” said Jarvis's voice, “I must inform you that Mr. Banner is on his way to the workshop.”

“Fuck,” Tony cursed.

“Right now? I don't think that's such a good idea,” said Loki.

“Oh, shut up, you giant dick,” Tony growled. “How do I look? Is my hair too ruffled? Do I look like after a make out session?”

Loki's fingertips glowed green for a second.

“Not anymore.”

“Good. Good,” Tony nodded. “Don't take this personally, okay? I still want to kiss you, I just don't want the team to _know_ I want to kiss you. Not right now. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Fine. Fine. Good.” Tony climbed back on his high stool. “Now, pretend we're doing science and not... almost dancing.”

“Dancing. A metaphor from Doctor Who, right?” the god grinned. “Yes, you know, I am, too, a bit more flexible when it comes to dancing...”

“Yeah, you know, we'll see about that when we dance.”

“Dance?” asked Bruce's voice from the doorway. “I thought you were working, but... Are you planning to go to a club or something?”

“Oh, yeah, something like that,” Tony replied. “Hi, Bruce, by the way. And yes. Club. You see, I really need to get laid soon, or I'm gonna go mad. What? You're looking at me like I drank all your herbal tea.”

“You don't mind him talking like that?” Bruce frowned and turned to Loki. “I've known him for years and I still feel incredibly uncomfortable when he starts about his sex life.”

“Hey, _he_ is standing right here! Well... sitting,” Tony corrected himself.

“Not much of a difference,” Loki commented. “Wait, you might actually be taller than usual when you sit on that stool...”

“Fine, Princess. As you wish. No dancing for you tonight.”

“You two are just like an old married couple,” said Bruce and rolled his eyes. “Just tell me what you've got about those teleporters.”

“I'm afraid I don't have anything,” said Tony. “But if you want a rather poetical description of Yggdrasil traveling, Loki still haven't finished with his. Where were you, babe?”

“I was just about to start explaining the device, Stark.”

“Oh. Great. We're getting somewhere,” Tony grinned. “Please, do tell me more.”

 

During the dinner all the Avengers (plus one Loki) had together, not even Natasha noticed that something had changed between Loki and Tony. Well, of course that they all noticed that they were talking to each other again, but since the two idiots' relationship had always been like on a roller coaster, no one paid much attention to it. Everyone was just glad that they weren't trying to kill each other.

No one was surprised when, still chewing, Tony stood up, touched Loki's shoulder and gestured him to stand up.

“Do you want to go to the lab again, Stark?” the god asked.

Tony nodded.

“Can we watch Doctor Who while we work?”

Tony nodded again.

Loki didn't even finish his pizza.

(There was a small battle for the remaining slices between Thor and Clint. The archer won. Emotional blackmail is a strong weapon.)

 

It was long after midnight (actually it was closer to dawn) when Tony yawned one too many times for Loki's liking.

“All right, Stark,” the god growled and put the teleportation device he had been once again inspecting back on the table. “Bed. Now.”

“Never heard about foreplay?” Tony smirked. “You've got so much to learn, Princess.”

“If you think that we are going to have sex tonight, you are wrong.”

“Am I?”

“Yes, you are. If you wanted to have sex, you shouldn't have insisted on being here for so fucking long.”

“Hey, you were working, too. You're enjoying being clever!”

“I am not the one who claims that he wants to fuck.”

Tony frowned and slid off his high stool once again.

“Are you telling me that you don't? You, my horny Space Princess?”

“I'm not saying that-”

“Look, if you're not attracted to me in that way, just fucking say it and I'm gonna find someone else to fulfill my current fantasies. You know, another ridiculously tall and pale and handsome guy with jet black hair and mesmerizing green eyes. Because, frankly, that's what I need right now, so...”

And then he suddenly felt long fingers being wrapped around his throat, and Loki's face was right there in front of his and there was so much wrath in those green eyes.

“You will not find yourself some puny substitution for me, you stupid mortal,” the god growled.

“Oh, yes, this is more like it,” the inventor grinned.

“Annoying brat,” said Loki, his fingers still holding Tony's throat. “You hate me and ignore me and mock me for _weeks_ and then you simply decide, just like that, that you want to be friends, and then, suddenly, you don't want to be friends anymore, you want to be... _what_ , Stark?”

“Uhm, friends with benefits?” Tony tried. “Princess, you know, since the first kiss, I just really want to get you in my bed. Oh, yes, the fact that I saw your cock the one time we got drunk together probably doesn't help, because for some reason, I can remember it perfectly and so I know how gorgeous it is... Come on, Princess. _If_ you want it, just... come on. Take me to my bedroom and fuck me. Because I really, really want you to.”

That did it.

Tony felt his lips being claimed by Loki's in a deep and passionate and almost violent kiss. He couldn't help but moan into it, especially when the god's arms wrapped themselves around his torso and held him close, or when, after a moment of that strange feeling of being teleported, he found himself pushed onto his bed by a very feral looking Norse deity.

The next thing he knew, they were both naked ( _fucking magic_ ) and entangled and panting and...

In the past two days, Tony had spent some time picturing in his head (and in that very bed they were now lying on) what it would be like to feel Loki's a little colder skin against his, Loki's fingers slowly preparing him, Loki's soft lips wrapped around his dick and his silver tongue doing things which probably earned Loki that particular nickname, what it would be like to be fucked into his mattress by a god of mischief and not be able to do anything but scream and moan and dig his fingers into that pale, broad back.

Needless to say, the reality was much better than his imagination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, darlings. Sorry for the long time between the updates. I had planned on posting the chapter sooner, but the weather is terribly hot in my country and my bedroom is in the attic with the windows facing south, so it's really hard to write in English when your brain is melting. I can only write at night or early in the morning. But I managed this little chapter, so... I hope you enjoyed it. :)  
> As always, thank you so much for all your lovely comments! :)


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony enjoys waking up in Loki's arms. No one suspects anything. Almost no one. There is one person who turns out to be more clever than Loki expected...

It was nice to wake up in someone's arms. Tony had always loved it, and he had missed it those past few months. He felt safe and content and happy, with strong arms wrapped around his torso, the lean body pressed against his, the long hair in...

Well, he wouldn't actually mind if he didn't have long, black hair in his mouth and his nose, but the rest was nice. Very, very nice.

He spit out the hair and nuzzled the pale neck right in front of his face.

“Wakey wakey, lollipop...”

He heard a deep growl.

“Lollipop, Stark?”

“Oh, well, you kind of were my lollipop at one point-”

“Very funny, Anthony, very funny.”

“Come on, you wouldn't be mad at me, Princess,” Tony murmured and hugged the god a bit tighter. “Would you?”

“You woke me up only to call me a lollipop. I have every right to be irritated, darling.”

“If you're irritated, all you need is some good sex,” Tony grinned and pulled away to look at Loki's face. “What would you say to that?”

“I was thinking about coffee,” the god shrugged. “And breakfast. Jarvis, what time is it?”

“Half past nine, sir,” the AI replied.

“Excuse me!” Tony frowned. “Are you really Loki, right? The one who fucked the ambassador of Somethingheim? The horny, insatiable former prince of Asgard?”

“There was no need to mention the former prince issue, but yes, why?”

“Because, Princess,” said Tony and gently pushed Loki over on his back. “If you are that Loki, how come I had to  _ convince _ you to have sex with me, eh?”

“Anthony-”

“How come you are all moody today, after that fantastic... well, not  _ night _ , but at least two hours?”

“An hour and a half.”

“How come you would prefer  _ coffee _ over more sex, eh?”

“Anthony, just listen-”

“No. Come on, is this another of Odin's stupid rules?  _ With puny mortals layeth will you not _ ?” asked Tony, slowly climbing on Loki's lap.

“Stark, I have  _ zero _ idea what in the name of sanity are you talking about.”

“Oh, Christ, they didn't show you Star Wars. Right,” Tony sighed. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I was just kidding with the coffee, dear,” said Loki.

“Oh,” Tony nodded. “Makes sense.”

“But I have to say that I like this position very, very much,” Loki murmured and rested his hands on Tony's hips. “So if you want to fuck yourself on my cock, feel free to.”

“Oh, damn. Wait. Wait a minute. I really need to pee, first.”

“Norns, how  _ old _ are you really, Stark?” Loki growled when the inventor jumped to his feet.

“Old enough to have problems with my prostate?” Tony grinned.

“Well, don't worry. I'm definitely gonna take care of  _ that _ when you come back...”

 

They stepped into the elevator in Tony's apartment.

“Right,” said Tony. “Shall we go through the story one more time?”

“We worked almost until dawn,” said Loki. “Then, because you are so obsessed with alcohol, you invited me into your apartment for a drink.”

“You fell asleep on my couch,” Tony nodded. “I couldn't wake you up, so I just left you there and went to bed.”

“Does it seem convincing enough?”

“Yup. Not too much details, and we both look like we haven't slept much.”

“Fine.”

“You sure you don't mind that they won't know?”

“Absolutely. I'm not ready for Clint's jokes.”

The elevator stopped on the common floor. The door slid open, only to reveal two assassins waiting right in front of it.

“Oh. Hi,” Clint said. “You both look like shit.”

“Thanks,” Tony smirked.

“Seriously, Tony,” Natasha sighed. “If Loki's gonna crash on your couch more often, you'll need to buy a better one.”

“Yeah, I will,” Tony nodded. “Can't let our Princess be uncomfortable.”

“He's just  _ your _ Princess, you know?” Natasha grinned. “Come on, get off the elevator. Oh, by the way, Bruce went to the workshop about twenty minutes ago, you'd better get there before he gets angry.”

“Can we at least have breakfast first?” Loki whined. “Stark, you promised me coffee!”

“I know, I know,” Tony sighed. “Don't worry, you'll get it.”

“And chocolate muffins.”

“Yes, and chocolate muffins. Guys, we do have some left, don't we?”

“You know, Stark, he wasn't like this until you started being nice to him,” Clint commented. “You corrupt him. You managed to turn a prince into a... greedy little child.”

“Less talking, more coffee and muffins,” said Loki and grabbed the front of Tony's T-shirt. “See you later, Spy Kids.”

“This must be malfunctioning,” Clint muttered, staring at the hologram above his wristband. “Did  _ Loki  _ just call us Spy Kids?”

The other assassin just nodded.

 

Tony shouldn't have been surprised when Loki sat down on the couch, right next to Thor, instead of going to the kitchen.

“Coffee. Muffins. Now,” the god said.

“Well, aren't we a royal dick today?” Tony smirked.

“What did you say?”

“I said  _ yes, my lady _ ,” Tony smirked and made a little curtsy.

The inventor disappeared into the kitchen. Thor waited for about five seconds, then turned his head to face Loki.

“So, how was your night, my dear brother?”

“Haven't you heard? Are you deaf as well as stupid? Poor you, at least Barton is  _ just _ deaf. So, once again. I spent the night on Tony Stark's couch.”

“Of course that you did,” Thor nodded. “And I spent the night with Captain Rogers.”

“Did you? I would never guess you were into that, brother.”

“Loki!”

The black-haired god sighed, a little smile tugging at his lips.

“All right. I  _ might _ have spent the night in Anthony's bed. So what?”

“So nothing,” Thor shrugged. “Maybe only...  _ finally _ .”

“Shut up, oaf,” Loki grinned. “Or I'll tell you who the  _ argr  _ one is.”

“I don't have many illusions about any of you, brother. Did you enjoy it?”

“Oh, yes. Absolutely,” Loki nodded. “Do you remember that young ginger maid? The very... adventurous one.”

“Of course that I do. She was incredibly enthusiastic. I didn't know that  _ you _ ...”

“Thor, almost  _ everyone _ spent at least one night with her. And her enthusiasm was nothing compared to that of Anthony Stark.”

“Well, good for you, Loki,” Thor smiled. “To be honest... you needed it.”

Tony chose that moment to walk back into the living room, a tray with two cups of coffee and a plate full of muffins in his hands.

“Right, babe, your giant dose of caffeine and sugar is here,” he announced. “Anything else the Princess wants?”

“No, this should be sufficient... for now,” Loki replied.

“Good,” Tony nodded. “Thor, why are you grinning? Why is he grinning at me, Loki?”

“I don't have the slightest idea, Anthony.”

“Oh, no. You just couldn't keep your dirty mouth shut, could you?”

“It was not my fault. He figured it out,” Loki sighed. “Look, it's just Thor. He's completely harmless. He won't tell anyone, will you, brother?”

“Not a soul, I swear on-”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Loki. “See? And there's a plus side, too. You can kiss me in front of him.”

“Who says I want to kiss you?” Tony frowned, but, right after finally putting the tray down, he bent over to give Loki a tiny kiss on the lips. “Happy?”

“Very. Now go away and let me drink my coffee.”

“Yes, my lady. Of course, my lady.”

 

They had been in the workshop for hours. Loki had stopped pretending he knew what was going on a long time ago and grabbed one of the asgardian books about healing. But it was hard to concentrate on that when all he heard was a ridiculous amount of technical blabbering.

“ _ Lokiii _ ,” Tony suddenly whined. “A little help here, please?”

“Perhaps, but only if you will speak English, my dear,” Loki smirked.

“I speak English! Well, most of the time.”

“I haven't heard a proper English word come out of your mouth for at least twenty minutes,” said Loki and shut his book. “All right, what do you want?”

“I need some data. I want readings when this thing is active and in action.”

“You mean teleporting?” asked Bruce. “Tony, are you crazy?”

“Can you do it, Princess?”

“No, I am afraid that I cannot,” Loki shook his head and got to his feet. “Well, technically, I can. But these devices use the Yggdrasil, I've told you.”

“And you can't use that for travel. Right. Sorry, forget about it.”

“Why do you need those readings, anyway?” Bruce frowned. “Oh, no.  _ Tony... _ ”

“You must admit it would be... handy,” Tony shrugged. “To have our own teleports.”

“Anthony, this is not the technology Midgardians should play with,” Loki sighed. “You don't understand-”

“No, I don't, that's why I've got a crazy alien sorcerer who  _ does _ .”

“Flattery will get you nowhere, Stark. Just one question. If I refuse, will you try to create the device yourself?”

“What do you think, Princess?”

Loki nodded.

“Fine. I'm in. But only if it is a teleporter which doesn't use Yggdrasil.”

“That's the one which would use more energy, right? Fine, energy's not a problem if we can use the arc reactor. I guess we'll need to try that, since the magic of your scepter didn't work near it...”

“Arc... reactor?” Loki blinked. “What?”

“Oh, right, you don't know about that. Sit down. Here. Next to me, right. Now, remember your performance issues back then during the invasion?”

“Okay,” said Bruce. “I'll try to act as a voice of reason here-”

“Don't waste your breath, honey,” Tony smirked. “Now, Lokes, performance issues...”

 

(Tony said the phrase ' _performance issues_ ' so many times during the evening that the moment Bruce finally left the workshop, Loki decided to make sure the inventor understood that he had no such issues.

Tony would of course deny that that was exactly his plan. But it was.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, sweeties. Oh, look, it's another chapter. I really think I might be spoiling you with all the updates, but I just can't help it. It's all those comments that keeps me going. I just want you to know that I am really grateful for them. :) And I know this chapter is a bit uneventful, so... sorry about that? :D


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki studies some healing spells. And then uses some (completely different) healing spells. And he also makes one tiny mistake in front of a wrong person...

Loki walked into Thor's flat, a satisfied smile on his face, humming a melody which definitely _wasn't_ Black Sabbath's 'Iron Man'.

Thor turned his head to his brother and blinked.

“What are you doing here? I thought you would spend the night with Stark again.”

“Why should I? We are friends, Thor, not lovers.”

Thor frowned, clearly confused.

“But you...”

“Friends with benefits, that's what the Midgardians call it,” said Loki. “Amazing concept, truly. I like it very much.”

“Are you sure about that, Loki?”

“Oh, but of course,” the younger god grinned, sat in the armchair and reached for one of his asgardian books, which were lying on almost every flat surface of the living room. “Why shouldn't I? It's just a name for something I've been doing all the time back home.”

“Usually with multiple _friends_ at the same time.”

“Exactly,” Loki nodded, smiling. “Though there is no one else suitable for that here. So I will have to make do with Stark.”

“For some reason, I don't think that will be a problem for you.”

“A word of advice, Thor... Shut up,” Loki growled. “Hm, interesting, deep cuts, damaged nerves... Thor, give me your hand, I would like to practice a spell.”

“But I don't have any deep cuts, brother.”

A dagger appeared in Loki's hand.

“Yes. I know. I will take care of that, first.”

“Have you gone completely mad, Loki? _Again_?”

“For fuck's sake, Thor, relax,” said Loki and rolled his eyes. “That was a joke.”

“For what's sake? You need to stop spending all the time with Stark, immediately, brother.”

“I'd like to see you try to stop me,” Loki smirked and suddenly, after a small gesture of his hand, his clone appeared on the armrest next to him. “Hold out your hand.”

“I told you-”

“Not you, you oaf,” said Loki and cut deep into the pale skin of the clone's forearm.

“Loki!” Thor exclaimed, horrified.

“What? It doesn't feel anything and I need to practice. I cannot wait until something happens to one of Earth's mightiest heroes to try a new spell on them, can I?”

“They have their own healers, Loki.”

“Doctors, that's the word you are looking for, Thor. Doctors,” Loki mumbled while looking from the book to the clone's hand and back. “But this is much quicker. And it doesn't require any time for rehabilitation.”

“I think your patient is slowly bleeding to death. On _my_ armchair,”

“As if I never cleaned any blood from your armchairs,” Loki smirked. “Be quiet, will you? I need to concentrate. Take my tablet and play a game or something.”

“ _Your_ tablet? You stole it from Stark!”

“And he hasn't asked me to give it back, so it's mine. Now _shut up_ , or, if you're the next one injured, I'll _let you_ bleed to death. I might even help you a little.”

“What if someone breaks an arm? What will you do then?”

“A broken arm is not a life-threatening injury. So I will just take my books and... well, learn.”

“I hope that it will not be my arm, then.”

Loki's fingertips glowed green as he held them above the wound on the clone's forearm.

“I hope that it will,” he muttered.

 

When it happened, exactly two days later, it wasn't Thor's arm. When Loki got a call from the jet, he really thought Natasha was joking. Was Thor a prophet or what?

But then, when they finally got back from Chicago (Loki didn't even bother asking who was the villain this time) and Tony Stark walked into the common living room, a sheepish look on his face and his arm close to his chest, Loki just sighed.

“Oh, great. Fucking great,” he said. “Sit.”

“Uhm, you know, there's no need-”

“ _Sit_ ,” Loki growled.

“Look, Princess, no offense, but I really don't want to be your guinea pig. I think I'd prefer-”

“Sit down, or the broken arm will be the least of your worries!”

“Yes, ma'am,” Tony nodded and sank onto the couch. “But really, it's no-”

“Shut up,” Loki growled. “I have studied what I could about fractures before you arrived. So I'll examine it and I swear, if I am not sure I can heal it, I will leave it to your doctors, okay?”

“Fine,” Tony mumbled.

“Don't move. Don't twitch. Don't speak.”

“I won't.”

“And seriously, how have you managed to survive for so long? Two injuries in what, less than two weeks? You shouldn't be alive!”

“You bring me bad luck, baby,” Tony smiled. “First time we saw each other, I nearly died. Several times.”

“You two,” said Natasha, hopping into the living room on her right leg, one arm around Clint's shoulders for support, “are about as romantic as a pair of old maids. Loki, please, tell me you know something about sprained ankles.”

“A lot of accidents during this mission, I see.”

“Oh, no, it was the same one. Tony lost an arm of his suit, we were... cornered, outnumbered, he flew me to safety, but he ran out of energy just as we were landing, so we fell a few feet down. I sprained my ankle and Tony tried so hard not to fall on me that he hit the only piece of rubble around with his unprotected arm. Very hard.”

“Yeah, but if I fell on you, you'd be dead. The suit's bloody heavy,” Tony sighed.

“I know,” she nodded as Clint lowered her on a couch next to the inventor. Then she kissed Tony on the cheek. “You're a hero, is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Don't distract my patients, Natasha,” Loki muttered, his whole hand glowing green.

“I thought patients should be distracted. So they, you know... don't feel so much pain.”

“I told you to shut up, didn't I?” the god growled. “Some other injuries?”

“Nothing too bad,” Natasha shook her head. “Just some minor cuts which will heal in a few days.”

“Fine...” Loki slowly nodded. “All right, Anthony, I am pretty sure I can take care of this, if you let me.”

“ _Pretty_ sure? Princess, I kinda need that arm!”

“Kinda? All right, it's fine then,” Loki grinned.

“You're kidding. Please, tell me you're kidding.”

“Oh, I hope I am.”

“Loki!”

“Relax, darling. It's going to hurt more if you struggle.”

“Hurt _more_?!”

“Anthony?”

“ _What_?!”

“Just relax. Everything is going to be fine.”

“You swear?”

“On my honor, Anthony.”

“Oh, great. I'm doomed.”

 

Twenty minutes later, Tony's arm was perfectly okay, and so was Natasha's ankle. Also, the rest of the team took their seats in the living room, completely exhausted.

Nobody dared to comment on it when the two assassins announced they were going to have a shower. Tony rolled his eyes, but only when he was sure that Natasha wasn't looking.

Just as the elevator door slid closed behind them, Natasha sighed.

“I really hoped I was wrong when I thought that something was a little bit... odd about their flirting this morning.”

“Odd?” Clint blinked at the hologram above his wristband. “I didn't notice anything odd!”

“You never notice anything, honey,” she smirked. “What about when I gave Tony that kiss on the cheek?”

Clint frowned.

“You think Loki was jealous, right?”

“Exactly,” Natasha nodded. “Also, he seemed a little bit _too_ concerned about Tony's arm.”

“I don't think-”

“Who's the super spy, Clint?”

“I thought that we both were.”

“Cute,” she smiled. “And by the way, Loki was sleeping on Tony's couch last night. Again.”

“Are you really telling me you think that they're shagging?”

“No, I am telling you I'm almost hundred percent sure that they are.”

They both left the elevator.

“Well, you can't say that we didn't see that coming,” said Clint.

“Truth. Now, what's the plan?”

“The plan? Oh, no, you want their confession, don't you? Look, can't we just... let them have fun for a while? Because either they just want to enjoy some good sex, which is good for them, or they're on their way to falling in love, which... well, which would be a nightmare for _us_ ,but also great for _them_. Either way, I don't think we should interfere yet.”

“So we could make some bad jokes which would be quite inappropriate if we _knew_ , but they'll be okay since we clearly _don't know_?”

The archer grinned.

“And this is exactly why I love you, Nat.”

 

The next morning, Tony and Loki once again arrived to the common floor together. Natasha didn't even look up from the magazine she was reading.

“Good morning,” she said. “How was your night on Tony's couch this time, Loki?”

Both the god and the inventor stopped dead in their tracks and just stared for several long seconds.

“Okay,” Tony then nodded and then continued to kitchen. “I get it. We're going shopping. Fuck.”

“What?” Clint blinked.

“Oh, it's nothing,” Loki shrugged. “We just made a bet if it will take you less than a week to find out. Anthony lost, so he's going to buy me some nice, new clothes. Thank you.”

“You're welcome,” said Natasha.

“Princess, if you want coffee, move your skinny ass to the kitchen, _now_ , or I'm gonna drink yours, too!”

“Why does he keep calling my ass skinny?” Loki smirked on his way to the inventor. “Anthony, dear, not so many people have a bubble butt like you do...”

“Oh, fuck, where did you learn _that_ word?”

“What, bubble butt? It is a perfect description of your ass.”

“Yes, but _how_ do you even... Shit, never mind. I don't wanna know. Here, your coffee.”

“Thank you, Anthony.”

“Yeah, give him coffee,” said Clint in the living room. “That's the least you can do for keeping the poor thing awake all night.”

“Oh, just fucking kill me,” Tony growled. “How the fuck did they find out?!”

The assassins giggled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my darlings! A little bit late again, I know. I must admit that I am a bit screwed. :D I'm going on another holiday in less than two weeks and by that time, I have to finish my story for the FrostIron Bang and it's not looking well. I need to focus more on that and less on this one, but every time I see a new comment here, I just want to continue writing this, so... Yeah, as I said, I'm totally screwed. :/ With that said, I'm not sure when the next update is going to be, but I'll try to make it as soon as possible. ;)  
> And, as always, thank you very, very much for all your comments! :)


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Bruce find out about Loki and Tony. Well, they are told, but the result is the same. What will their reactions be? Oh, and by the way, Tony really likes buying clothes for Loki...

“Jarvis, are those two morons back yet?” Natasha asked. “Loki promised to teach me some tricks with daggers.”

“Mr. Stark and Mr. Liesmith arrived ten minutes ago,” Jarvis answered. “Mr. Stark is currently helping Mr. Liesmith with his bags.”

“What happened to Loki's handy spell which made them float in the air?”

“Mr. Stark asked the same question. Mr. Liesmith claims that he doesn't want to overuse his magic.”

“That would be the first time,” Clint smirked.

“Why did they go shopping, anyway?” Steve frowned. “I thought Loki had enough new clothes.”

“I'll tell you when you're a big boy, Stevie,” Natasha smiled. “I don't want to make you blush.”

“Blush? What the hell is going on here?!”

“Oh, you know, just some usual... stuff.”

“What sort of _stuff_ exactly, Tasha?”

“Oh, you know, when two people like each other in a certain way...”

Loki appeared right next to Steve's armchair startling the Captain.

“I think Stark lost the last piece of his sanity,” he announced.

“Heart attack!” Steve yelled. “You can't do things like that to me, I am an old man!”

“Whatever,” Loki shrugged. “How much money exactly does Stark have?”

“ _Lots_ ,” said Clint. “Let me guess, he went on a shopping spree? Nice T-shirt, by the way. New, I suppose.”

“He _made me_ buy it _and_ wear it,” Loki complained, tugging at the hem of his red T-shirt with an Iron Man mask on it. “He wouldn't take no for an answer. And there were no conveniently placed windows. And even if there were, I cannot throw him out of one in _public_.”

“Yeah, what a shame,” Clint nodded. “Did he buy you any _normal_ clothes?”

“Of course. At least four white shirts, don't ask me why. Some T-shirts, some jeans, some normal pants, some underwear...”

“Okay, stop _right there_ ,” Natasha said. “I don't need to hear about your new Iron Man thongs, that's only for Tony to know about.”

“I assure you that he didn't buy me any of those,” Loki grinned.

“Did he buy some for himself?” Clint smirked. “Or is he going to surprise you with them?”

Steve took a deep breath. Deep, deep breath. And counted to five in his head.

“All right. I think I know what's going on here.”

“They haven't told you?” Loki frowned. “Oh, I am sorry. Stark and I are fucking.”

“Fucking,” Steve repeated.

“Yes, as in exchanging the bodily fluids on a regular basis,” Loki nodded.

“Thanks for the explanation.”

“You're welcome, Captain.”

The elevator dinged and Tony stormed into the common living room.

“You. You piece of _shit_ ,” he pointed to Loki. “That's how you express your gratitude for all the nice new clothes? By vanishing into thin air?”

“I am sorry, did you want me to kneel before you?” the god asked.

“Well, _yes_?”

“Maybe later,” Loki winked. “And please, don't look at me like that, it's making your dear Captain blush.”

Tony focused his gaze on Steve, who was trying really hard to look somewhere else.

“Oh, I don't think that was _me_ ,” Tony mumbled. “I think it was something _you_ said. Jeez, Loki, does everyone have to know?”

“You bought me this ugly thing, remember?” Loki pointed to his T-shirt.

“Oh, shut up, Princess, you were practically drooling when you saw it. But if you really don't like it, fine. Give it to me, I'll wear it.”

“Don't you dare lay a finger on it, Stark. That's mine.”

“So I'm yours? That's so cute, babe.”

“You are going to regret this so much, Anthony.”

“I don't think I will,” Tony grinned. “Oh, come on, Stevie, it's not that bad. I might get much less annoying when I get laid regularly.”

“Or much more,” Loki added.

“Oh... yes,” Tony nodded. “By the way, has anyone told Bruce, or did you just want to scare Steve?”

“No, Bruce doesn't know yet,” Natasha shook her head. “He's been in the workshop since you two left.”

“Okay. Come on, Princess, we're gonna tell Brucie,” said Tony and grabbed Loki's hand.

“What? Are you mad, Anthony? You're going to tell him just like that?”

“You told _me_ just like that!” Steve protested.

“Yes, but you and I don't have a history involving a very hard marble floor.”

“Fine, we'll tell him _gently_ , then. Happy?” Tony smirked and pushed Loki into the elevator. “J, baby, the workshop, please.”

The door closed behind them.

“Oh, God,” Steve whined. “They're getting worse and worse.”

“Yes, they are,” Natasha nodded.

“We should probably be glad that they're just fucking,” said Clint. “Can you imagine what would happen if they were _dating_? Or worse, _in love_?”

“Are we so sure they're not?” asked Steve.

“We're not,” Natasha answered. “But you gotta have hope...”

 

Tony was hugging Bruce tightly.

“Don't go green,” he kept repeating. “Don't go green, don't go green, don't go green.”

“You're such a clown, Tony,” Bruce sighed.

“Yeah. Don't go green.”

“How many coffees have you had since morning?”

“Way too many. Don't go green.”

“You know, saying 'don't go green' is probably going to make me...”

“Go green?”

“Yes.”

“Uhm,” Tony grinned and let go. “We're fine, then?”

“Of course that we are,” Bruce shrugged. “It's your business who you want to have sex with. Just don't do it in the workshop, please.”

“ _Weeell_...”

“Tony!”

“Right on that table you're sitting at.”

“Oh, Christ, you annoying, _horny_ -”

“He's talking to you, babe,” Tony told Loki.

“I'm sure that he's not,” the god said.

“Mr. Liesmith, miss Romanov asked me to remind you that you had promised her a training with daggers.”

“Damn, I forgot. Anthony?”

“Go. And then come back here. We'll be working on the teleporter, won't we, Bruce?”

“I've been working on it for the whole afternoon,” Bruce replied. “You know what, I think I'm going to go make myself some nice peppermint tea upstairs.”

“You've got tea here,” said Tony.

“Ran out of the peppermint one. I'll be right back. Loki, are you going upstairs with me?”

“I guess,” Loki shrugged. “See you later, Anthony.”

“In an hour or two, Princess,” Tony winked. “Oh, and we could finish season two of Doctor Who tonight, how about that?”

 

Loki knew what was going to happen. He knew it the moment Bruce mentioned he was going to go and make himself some tea. Tony didn't notice, of course. Or didn't realize.

When the elevator door closed, Bruce spoke, his voice very, very low.

“I just want you to know that if something inexplicable happens and you end up, for any reason, betraying us, betraying _Tony's trust_ , there will be nowhere you can hide from me. I will hunt you down and I will tear you to _pieces_. If you think the floor was bad, think again.”

A small smile appeared on Loki's lips.

“I will not betray you. I swear,” the god said.

“Good. Because I'd hate having to hunt you down.”

“But thank you, Bruce,” Loki whispered. “It's good to know that someone else wants to protect him, too.”

“Wait,” Bruce blinked. “What do you-”

The elevator stopped and the door opened.

“Oh, _finally_!” said Natasha. “You know, just because it takes _you_ thousands of years to grow old doesn't mean I've got the same amount of time to waste.”

“I am so sorry, dear,” Loki smiled and got out of the elevator. “I completely forgot about you. Do you have your own daggers or shall I lend you mine?”

“Yours, please. I want to see those beauties again...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, sweeties! :) I'm sorry this took so long again, but as I have said several times, I really, really need to finish the FrostIron Bang (seven day left, damn) and I've got some other duties, too, so... Yes, I guess the times when you got a new chapter every other day are over, sorry. :D But as always, I promise to get it to you as soon as I can. :) Oh, and of course, thank you very much for your comments! :)


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some healing, some talking about clones, some fucking, some more talking, some suspicions. That's about everything I can tell you about this chapter, really.

“You know, Princess, if there's something I really utterly despise, it's villains ruining my plans for the evening.”

“Mhm,” Loki nodded, his fingertips glowing green.

“Especially if we've just defeated them like... a day ago.”

“Perhaps not completely defeated, my dear Anthony.”

“Obviously, yeah. Oh, come on, you can stop healing me, I'm fine, it's just a few scratches.”

“I am aware of that.”

“It'll heal itself in a week or so.”

“That cut in your eyebrow? I doubt that.”

“ _Lokiii_.”

“Shush. I need to practice, heal smaller wounds before trying to heal the larger ones.”

“I'm sure you'd be able to heal the larger ones just fine.”

“My clones beg to differ.”

“Sorry, your clones?”

“I use them to practice. Purely technically, I have killed three of them just while you were on your mission. I just suck at stopping the arterial bleeding.”

“I'm so glad to hear that, Princess.”

“Don't worry, I'm getting better. I _should_ be able to save your life if you get your wrists cut, there's a chance you'll survive if you get your femoral artery cut, but if someone goes for your neck, well...”

“You were cutting your clone's throats while we were away?”

“Well... Yes?” Loki shrugged.

“Like... Cutting your own throat. But on a clone.”

“It sounds a bit weird, doesn't it?”

“A bit completely, Princess.”

“It's safer than practicing on you when you get hurt.”

“You're practicing on me right now! Why don't you go heal Thor, he's got a few cuts, too. And Tasha. And Clint. And they're bigger. Way more interesting.”

“I'll get to them when I am done with you. I don't like seeing blood on your face.”

“Oh, _fine_. Just... Loki?”

“What?”

“I thought your clones weren't, you know... touchable.”

“They're not. Usually. By other people. They can be made more solid, if I wish them to be. And _I_ can always touch them.”

“Oh. Okay. Got it.”

“Congratulations, you are the first person to _ever_ ask me about it.”

“Yay. Go me.”

“Idiot.”

“Mhm... Loki?”

“What now?”

“Did you... Did you ever practice _other_ things on your clones?”

“What do you mean, my dearest?”

“You know bloody well what I mean.”

“Oh, you mean if my famous _silver tongue_ gained its experience by licking the cunt of my own female self? If I ever swallowed my own cock? If I fucked myself, tugging at my own hair?”

“Fuck, it sounds just filthy when you say it like that, but... Yeah, that's what I meant.”

“Well... Yes.”

“Yes? You mean like _yes_? Like you _did_ all those things?!”

“And much, much more.”

“Holy fuck.”

“Stop moving, will you? I am nearly done here.”

“Do you still do it?”

“I haven't in a long time.”

“ _Lokiii_...”

“No, I won't let you watch me fuck my clone.”

“Why not?”

“Because I won't, Anthony.”

“Oh, well, fair enough. Wait, by your female self you mean that gorgeous black-haired chick, who-”

“Would you like to have your wicked way with her?”

“Judging by the way you're grinning, you wouldn't mind if I did.”

“Not at all. It's been long since I was properly fucked in my female form.”

“Okay, healing time over, let's go to bed.”

“I am sorry, Anthony, but I promised Natasha that I would take care of the wound on her arm.”

“Are you serious? You make me all aroused, and then you just _leave_?”

“It won't take more than ten minutes. Besides, you need to take a shower first anyway. You reek of sweat.”

“But Loki!”

“Take a shower, wait for me in your bed. Okay?”

“Fine. But be quick, or I'm gonna start without you.”

 

“Oh, fuck,” Tony gasped. “This was just incredible.”

“Glad you enjoyed it,” the black-haired woman sitting in his lap smiled. “I must admit I have forgotten how _good_ this feels.”

“Just good, eh?”

“Amazing,” Loki corrected himself. “We might do it again, _soon_.”

“Yes, please,” Tony grinned. “But now, can I have my normal Princess back? You're hot like this, but you're hotter like, well, you.”

“You really think so?”

“Hell yes, baby.”

The air around Loki shimmered with green and gold, and when the lights vanished, Tony was staring into the sorcerer's usual face again. And it was smiling, not with its usual smile that verged on dangerous, but with a happy and sincere one.

“Thank you, Anthony,” he whispered.

“No need to. I'm just telling the truth.”

“Exactly.”

A long, lazy kiss.

“You don't want to go to the workshop, do you?” Loki asked, breathless.

“No way. I'm too tired for that. I'm even way too tired for another round oh hot sex, unfortunately,” Tony murmured. “Which is a shame. 'Cause I'd really like to have my wicked way with you again.”

“Do you want to go to sleep?”

“No, I'm not... sleepy. Just terribly tired.”

“Do you want to cuddle and watch a movie?”

“Do _you_ want to? You can just... Go to your place and read. Or kill another clone or two. Although I'd prefer to have you here. You make such a wonderful pillow.”

“I wasn't going to go anywhere,” Loki shrugged and plopped on the bed beside Tony. “What would you like to watch?”

“Dunno. Star Wars?” said Tony and laid his head on the sorcerer's shoulder. “More Doctor? We won't finish the season today, but an episode or two... Yeah, Jarvis, play Doctor Who.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Anthony, you are truly a maniac, aren't you?”

“Do you mind?”

“Oh, no. You make my life on Midgard so much more interesting...”

Tony grinned and hugged Loki tight.

It was almost scary how much he enjoyed having the god close to him.

 

They walked into the common living room together.

“Morning,” Natasha grinned. “I hope you're not going to pretend that Loki slept on your couch again. Even though you both look... surprisingly rested.”

“I slept like a baby tonight,” said Tony.

“Yeah, he drooled like a baby, too,” Loki added. “Right on my shoulder.”

“As if you'd know. We've already estimated that you didn't have kids.”

“Have we?” Loki frowned. “Oh. Oh, yes, Sleipnir. You are right, of course. No children.”

The only reason why Natasha didn't notice a slight twitch of his hands was that she was reading the newest gossips about celebrities. Hey, deadly assassins can have normal hobbies, too.

Tony did notice the twitch. He wondered if he was turning into a superspy, or if he was just starting to know Loki too well. However, he decided not to comment on it.

“Good. Great,” he nodded. “Breakfast and workshop?”

“Breakfast and workshop.”

“Fine. Oh, damn, I forgot my phone downstairs. Would you mind making the coffee, Princess? I'll be right back.”

“Idiot,” Loki murmured and rolled his eyes. “Go. Does anyone else want coffee?”

Clint's arm shot straight up, the hologrammatic subtitles still visible above his wristband.

 

“Jarvis?” said Tony the moment the elevator started to move. “Norse mythology. Loki, children. Find what you can. How, who with, how many. Send to my tablet, wherever it is.”

“I am afraid that Mr. Liesmith have borrowed it several weeks ago, sir.”

“Okay, no sending to my tablet. Fine, store it into some file and don't show it to Loki, under any circumstances. I'll read it when I'm alone in the workshop.”

“Of course, sir.”

“And while you're at it, give me everything about the mythological Loki you find interesting, okay?”

“Of course, sir.”

Tony walked into his own living room and grabbed the phone he had _really_ left lying on the coffee table.

For some reason, he just knew there was a long and unpleasant talk with Loki awaiting him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhm, hello? I seriously don't have any idea what happened in this chapter. I just started to write, and... this is the result, Oh, well. :D This chapter took pretty long to write, and it's way too short, but I'm afraid that's all I can give you now. I promise the next one is going to be a bit more interesting, and perhaps longer. ;)  
> The good news is that the main reason why this took me so long is that I was furiously working on my FrostIron Bang story, and now, it's finished! Well, the first draft is, but I'm glad even for that. :D And it means I'm going to have a bit more time for this story before going away for my holiday. Yayyy... :)


	38. Chapter 38

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Watching Doctor Who can lead to sadness, tears and sudden and completely unexpected declarations of one's feelings. Thank Norns for stupid blond big brothers...

Many hours later, Loki sniffled as he let his body fall on the couch next to Thor.

“What's wrong?” asked Natasha. “Stark, what have you done to him?”

“Why do you think it's my fault?” Tony frowned.

“It _is_ your fault!” Loki muttered.

“No, it's not.”

“You showed me that infernal thing!”

“It's a TV show, Loki.”

“A TV show that made me sad.”

“I'll ask again, then,” Natasha sighed. “What's wrong?”

“Oh, nothing. Doctor's love got trapped in a parallel universe and he couldn't get her back, he could just speak to her, one last time-”

“And he didn't tell her he loved her!” Loki finished.

“Yeah, that's the moral of the story, Princess,” Tony sighed. “When you love someone, in a romantic or friendly or, I don't know, brotherly way, just tell them, because you never know when they're gonna end up in a parallel universe. Or dead. Or just with someone else, if you talk about romantic. Like your own clone in a... Wait, that's spoilers, sorry.”

Loki sniffled again.

“I know what the moral of the story is. I still hate it.”

“Come on, Space Princess...”

“Don't worry about it,” Clint shook his head. “He hated Frozen, too. Thought it was stupid. And that Elsa was a monster.”

“Why would you do that? Elsa-”

“I don't want to talk about that, Stark,” Loki shook his head and stood up. “But I think that I will listen to the moral of this... Doomsday and express my feelings more often.”

“Oh, baby...” Tony grinned and opened his arms, but Loki walked straight past him, to the armchair both assassins were currently occupying.

“Clint, Natasha,” the god said. “You are my favorite mortals. You made my first weeks on Midgard much more bearable, and... I think that you are probably the first people I have ever considered my friends. And I love you.”

“Loki,” Natasha smiled, got to her feet and hugged him tight. “We love you too, even though you're such a bastard.”

“Wrong,” said Clint and, right when Natasha let go of him, also hugged the god. “We love you _because_ you're such a bastard.”

“Just so you know,” Tony mumbled when Loki took a step back from the two assassins, “you have really hurt my feelings.”

“Stark,” Loki smirked, turning to face the inventor. “You are the most annoying mortal I know. You spent weeks trying to make my life miserable, hating me and generally being a dick. You are childish and stubborn and, well, I think I have already made a list of your character flaws once, so why repeat myself? Do you really think-”

“No.” It was Tony's turn to sniffle. “I guess not.”

“Oh, come on,” said Loki and rolled his eyes. “Of course that you are my favorite mortal, too.”

A few heartbeats later, Tony found himself wrapped in a tight hug.

“And?” he murmured.

“Anthony...”

“ _And_?” Tony repeated.

Only Thor saw his brother close his eyes.

“And I love you,” Loki whispered.

“Good. Now, did that hurt?” Tony laughed. “You can let go now.”

“Yes. Of course,” Loki nodded and did just that.

“Now, what's the plan?” asked Tony. “I know that Bruce is taking a shower. Where's Cap?”

“Meeting some friends of his. Veterans,” said Natasha.

“What?” Tony blinked. “But it's our movie night!”

“You know that's not mandatory, right?” Clint asked.

“But... Teambuilding! Everyone else is going to be here!”

“I'm not. But I'm not a part of the team, of course,” said Loki.

“What?” Tony gaped. “Wait, I thought-”

“I'm sorry, Anthony, but I'm not really in the right mood. I would ruin your whole evening. I will just go to bed and read for a while, or... something like that.”

“Wait. You're really depressed just because of a stupid TV series?”

“No. As I said, I'm just not in the mood for a movie tonight. I will see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? But... But...”

“It's been a weird day, Anthony. I'll be fine once I get my beauty sleep, okay?”

“Okay,” Tony shrugged. “Yeah, it's not like we were boyfriends or anything. Go to bed, Princess.”

“Good night, my dear,” Loki muttered and gave him a light peck on the lips.

“Night, baby.”

When Loki nearly got to the elevator, Thor stood up.

“Wait, Loki. There was one thing I needed to discuss with you. In private.”

“Come on, then,” Loki sighed. “But make it quick. I am really not in the mood for your babbling.”

 

They hadn't said a word to each other until they got into their shared flat. And even then, none of them exactly started _talking_.

The moment the door was firmly closed behind them, Loki growled and a wave of magic shot from this fingers. A glass on the kitchen counter exploded, shards flying everywhere. Another wave, another glass. And another.

“Loki,” Thor sighed.

“Why? Just tell me _why_!” Loki yelled and turned around. The coffee table flew into the nearest wall.

“Loki, please,” Thor said and took a step forward.

“No! No, just... Let go of me, you oaf, let _go of me right now_!”

“Stop it, Loki,” Thor muttered, trying to embrace his brother, stop him from using his hands. “Stop it right now.”

“Why? It's just _unfair_!”

The television simply shattered into pieces.

“I know. I know,” said Thor, getting hold of Loki's wrists and squeezing them tight. “But you _need to_ calm down. Please, brother.”

He saw tears escaping his brother's eyes.

“I love him,” Loki whispered.

“I know,” said Thor.

“You don't understand. I... I...”

“Trust me, I do. I know you, Loki.”

“I love him,” Loki croaked. “Why? Just tell me why, Thor?”

“How should I know?” Thor sighed.

“Was this a plan of some sort? Odin's plan to destroy me? Send me to Midgard and make me fall in love with a mortal?”

“Loki, please.”

“Let go of my wrists, Thor.”

“No.”

“Please. Just let go,” Loki muttered. “I promise not to destroy anything.”

“Loki-”

“Please, brother.”

Loki knew that was Thor's weak spot, of course that he did. And if the situation was different, he would probably consider breaking his promise just to teach Thor a lesson. But now...

He just wrapped his brother in a tight embrace.

“He's a mortal, Thor,” Loki mumbled. “Why does he have to be _a mortal_?”

“I don't know, Loki,” Thor sighed and hugged his brother back.

“How did you cope with it? How could you? With your mortal?”

“Does it matter? It's over. She found someone else. Someone she can _be_ with. Not a prince of Asgard and an Avenger.”

“Let's hope Stark will find someone for himself, too. Though... Is there even a possibility that I will have to watch him die? Odin will probably find a way to drag me back to Asgard in a year or two. I might as well be happy during that time.”

“Loki.”

“You know it's true. You _know_ , Thor.”

“No. I don't.”

“That's right. Keep lying to yourself.”

“Loki, stop.”

Loki buried his nose in the crook of Thor's shoulder.

“You know, you are my favorite brother,” he whispered.

“There isn't much competition there, Loki.”

“I'm saying that you are my _brother_ , you oaf,” Loki sighed. “And I love you.”

“The last time you said those words to me, Loki, you were about to bring the Jotuns to my coronation.”

“But that doesn't mean that I wasn't sincere. And I am definitely sincere now. I love you, Thor.”

“And I love you. My dear little brother...”

“Now give us a kiss.”

“Loki!”

The younger god just laughed.

 

When Bruce got upstairs, there was no one in the common living room.

“Uhm... Jarvis?” he said. “Has everyone been kidnapped, or is there something else I should know about?”

“Mr. Liesmith decided not to attend the movie night, sir. Mr. Odinson made the same decision several minutes later, after speaking with Mr. Liesmith. Mr. Stark claimed that the movie wouldn't be enjoyable without Mr. Liesmith's presence and decided to do some reading he needed to do. Miss Romanov and Mr. Barton retired to their flat. Neither member of the team wishes to be disturbed.”

“Oh. Lovely. Why should they let _me_ know, eh?” Bruce smirked. “Okay, so I guess it's just me then.”

“I am afraid so, Mr. Banner.”

“Well, Jarvis, find me a nice and peaceful movie to watch, okay?”

“Of course, sir.”

“I just wonder what is that _reading_ Tony needs to do...”

 

At the same moment, after reading just the first two pages of the file Jarvis had prepared for him, Tony Stark got to his feet and poured himself a glass of scotch.

“Oh, shit,” he muttered to himself. “This is gonna be a bloody long talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhm... Okay. If someone's looking for me, I'll be just quietly hiding under my bed or something like that, okay? I'm sorry for this, I really, really am. It's gonna get better, I promise. And there's still the big talk coming up in the next chapter...  
> By the way, as always, thank you all so much for your comments! :)


	39. Chapter 39

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And finally, the big talk. Yup, really. Just talking for the whole chapter. About Loki's past and... other important stuff. Warning: Tony Stark might sometimes appear stupid, but he's definitely not.

“Did you wish to speak to me?”

Tony jumped a feet into the air and (when he had landed) furiously turned around.

“Elevator!” he yelled.

“Jarvis said _immediately_ ,” Loki shrugged.

“Meaning you're supposed to _immediately_ get into the elevator and go upstairs,” Tony grinned and took a few steps towards the god. “Morning, Space Princess. Feeling better?”

“Somehow,” Loki sighed and bent down to give Tony a light kiss. “Thor helped. A lot.”

“Thor?” Tony repeated. “Oh. Well.”

“Don't be jealous, Stark,” Loki smirked.

“I'm not. I'm more... concerned about the fact that you were so depressed you turned to _Thor_ for help, that's all.”

“I didn't, he just happened to be there. And I do not want to discuss it. What did you want from me?”

“We need to talk, Princess,” Tony sighed. “And you are not going to like it.”

“Do you want to... stop our sexual relationship?”

“No. Course not. It's just...” He took a deep breath. “It's about your past.”

Loki slowly nodded.

“I'm listening.”

“About mythology, really. Myths about you.”

“Oh, no, again?”

“Have you read any of those myths, Loki?” Tony frowned. “They're terrible!”

“Yes, I have. And yes, they are. What would you like to know?”

“Well, you know, I have read them and I nearly had to get myself drunk to even fall asleep afterward.”

“What would you like to know, Anthony?”

“Wait. I've got a list,” Tony muttered and took a piece of paper from the coffee table. “Sit down. It's gonna take a while.”

“That's what I feared,” Loki smirked and lowered himself into the armchair.

“First, kids.”

“Stark...” said Loki, a warning in his voice.

“It's your own fault. You were all weird when I mentioned you didn't have any. So... Narvi and Vali. With your _wife_ Sigyn.”

“Sigyn and I were never married,” Loki sighed. “But yes, Narvi and Vali are my sons. Both are alive, both live with their mother. I haven't seen them for decades. Sigyn doesn't want me to. As for... Hela, Fenrir and Jormungandr, as I'm sure that you have read about them, too, yes, they... They also exist. Yes, they are what they are said to be in your myths. A wolf, a giant snake and a girl who is half normal and half... a corpse. But they are not wild and dangerous creatures, I swear they are not. It's just that the Asgardians were too afraid of them, even Odin was, so... they imagined them to be much worse than they really were. They are my children, of course, so they can be pretty wild, yes, but sweet, too. They would never hurt _me_ or anyone I love.”

“And... And they...”

Loki shrugged.

“They were taken away from me, yes,” he said. “My sons comfortably sent to other realms, distant places, where they cannot... hurt anyone. And my beautiful Hela was made a queen of Helheim, the land of the dead. I visited them when I could, but they are hard to reach, even for me. And of course that now, with my sentence, I cannot see them at all.”

“Oh, baby,” Tony whispered and knelt beside Tony, putting his hand on the god's knee. “Princess, I am so sorry. I am so sorry for asking, I am sorry that Odin is such a dick, I'm sorry...”

“It's fine,” Loki murmured. “I manage not to think about it... most of the time.”

“Do you... do you want a hug or something?”

“No. No, thank you,” Loki shook his head. “I am going to be all right.”

“Fine. Oh, but or the record, you can't... get pregnant in your female form, can you?”

“ _Now_ he asks,” Loki laughed. “No. Don't worry, I cannot. Well, I _can_ , but it would require some extra effort.”

“Like?” Tony gulped.

“Like creating a womb, Anthony. Which, I assure you, I never bother with, and I didn't start to bother with it when I let you fuck me. So don't worry, you will not become a father yet.”

“Oh, good.”

“What's the next thing on your list?”

“Well... Ragnarok. Or... what's before it. You know, cave, snake venom...”

“That, I am glad to say,” Loki smirked, “is just a fantasy of you mortals. Definitely didn't happen. Oh, no, sorry, I _was_ bound to a rock once, but that was when we were children and just because Thor's friends were tired of me following them around. Don't worry, my dear big brother saved me.”

“Oh, thank God,” Tony shivered. “This one almost gave me nightmares. And what about your lips stitched together? Please, tell me-”

“That one happened. But it was mainly a trick to shut the dwarfs up. It didn't hurt that much and healed very quickly.”

“And it was _Thor_ , who-”

“Don't you dare judging him, Stark. He had to do it. Trust me, it was for the best.”

“Fine. _Fine_ ,” Tony muttered. “As you wish. How about cutting Sif's golden hair?”

“Oh, yes,” Loki laughed. “That did piss Thor off. He really wanted to kill me that one time.”

“You are a little bitch, aren't you?”

“Definitely,” Loki nodded. “What's next?”

“Uhm... being locked in a box for three months?”

“Entirely my fault,” Loki bit his lip. “It was more like... three days, but still nothing I would like to go through again.”

“Okay,” said Tony. “And now something you definitely won't like.”

“Is it about killing some Baldr? Because there is no such-”

“It's about you being a frost giant, Loki.”

Loki's face immediately became several shades paler than usual.

“The conversation is over, Stark.”

“I'm just asking because it's mentioned a few times and-”

“Yes, because Thor's idiotic friends hated me for being different, so they made up a stupid story about me being one of those monsters and told it to mortals. And they believed them. I am not a Jotun, Stark, I am not one of those monsters, I am _not_!”

“Okay, I... I get it,” Tony frowned. “Not a frost giant, no need to scream at me.”

“Why would you even _think_ -”

“Because the legends say so!” Tony growled. “Come on, I just _asked_.”

“But you have no idea what your question _means_!” Loki yelled. “You are just a Midgardian, you don't know, your kind doesn't _remember_! But we do. I've been told those stories, all my childhood, about the monsters, about the beasts from Jotunheim, about those we must fear, and kill on sight! They are wild and dangerous and-”

“You know, that's a very racist thing to say.”

“You haven't even met a Jotun, Stark!”

“No, but I guess not _all_ of them can be bad. Besides, you only think they're bad because they've _told you_. Your parents.”

“Only Odin, actually,” said Loki and closed his eyes. “Mother always hated those stories.”

“See? Mum's always right,” Tony shrugged. “But you know, if you were a frost giant, you would be a living example that they're not all monsters.”

“Would I?” Loki laughed, a sad and bitter laugh. “Have you forgotten what I did to your realm? I _am_ a monster.”

“You're not. You're my Space Princess.”

“No, I am not. I am not _yours_.”

Loki opened his eyes, stood up and took a few steps towards the elevator.

“Last question, Loki,” said Tony. “Not about mythology.”

“What?” Loki asked.

“Are you in love with me?”

It seemed as if every muscle in Loki's body tightened even more than it already had.

“What?” he whispered.

“I'm not an idiot. Well, maybe I am, but sometimes... I have a bright moment. Yesterday, when I made you tell me you loved me, something was... off. I have thought about it, and I... Just answer me, Loki.”

“And what if I was, Stark?”

“I would ask for how long.”

Loki turned around and looked into Tony's eyes.

“Long enough,” he shrugged. “Before you even started being nice to me. Sad, isn't it? You just seemed... so interesting when I first came here, the way you dared to threaten me without your suit on. And when we fought about Thanos, your... determination amazed me. When I was sent here, you were the only one who refused to pretend to trust me. That was... impressive. But talking with you amused me so much, all those creative insults... And of course, you are a very attractive man.”

“Fuck.”

“I realized I was falling in love when we first met on the roof, I think. But the moment I was lost...” Loki smiled a little. “I guess that was the first time you called me Space Princess without meaning to hurt me.”

“I'm sorry. Princess, I'm really sorry...”

“I know. You do not love me. It's fine. I don't want you to. I don't _need_ you to. I just want you to be my friend. And I wouldn't mind an occasional fuck.”

“Loki.”

“Or _do_ you love me?” Loki laughed.

“No,” Tony murmured with a shake of his head. “I mean... You are hot, and I like spending time with you and... My God, I love the sex. And I probably like you more than just as a friend, but I don't...”

“Anthony, I told you. I don't mind.”

Loki came back and sat on the floor so he was facing Tony. The inventor bent forward to place a chaste kiss on Loki's lips.

“I didn't say I would never fall in love with you,” he murmured.

“Please, don't,” Loki sighed. “That would be the biggest mistake of your life.”

“I seriously doubt that,” Tony grinned.

“You don't believe me, do you?”

“That you're not a frost giant?” Tony asked. “No, I don't.”

“And you mean it that you wouldn't mind if I was?”

“Of course I do, Princess. I know you. I know what you're like. And whether you like it or not, being a frost giant is a part of your personality, so you don't just become someone else entirely just because you _admit_ that you are what you are, because you've been just that for all your life. And you _are_ my Space Princess, so it doesn't really matter to me from which... _realm_ you really are.”

“Did it take long to perfect that speech?”

“Oh, yes,” Tony nodded. “And I've left out the best part.”

“And that is...”

“That you can find a good Cyberman, too. And if you look really hard, even a good Dalek. So why not a good frost giant?”

“Anthony...”

Loki's whole body was trembling as he made himself let his true nature take over his skin. He felt the blue spread from his fingertips to his arms and his chest and his face. He had closed his eyes before he started, and now he was too afraid to open them and look at Tony.

“Oh, wow,” he heard the billionaire's whisper. “This looks so cool.”

“Cool, Anthony? Really?”

He was surprised by a soft and gentle kiss. Tony's lips suddenly felt so much warmer...

“Yeah,” Tony giggled. “Definitely _cool_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, darlings. That was the big talk. I really tried to make the ending as non-depressing and non-cliffhangery as possible, so you won't curse my name while I'm away. Now, I'm going to go finish packing my bags, because my ride is going to be here in less than two hours and I am in no way done. So, my holiday starts today and I'm gonna be gone for about nine days. Don't worry, I'll try to write and post the update as soon as possible when I get home, because I can't wait to continue this story. :) Have a good time while I'm gone, and as always, thank you so much for all your comments. :)


	40. Chapter 40

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony's little chat with Thor makes Loki very unhappy. Well, more like pretty angry, really. But at least there's someone who can talk some sense into him...

Thor was nearly done with his daily training when Tony walked into the gym. That itself was weird – Tony didn't use the gym very often, and almost never with other Avengers. He always felt too inferior to them without his suit on and really didn't need to listen to Natasha's comments about his poor performance on the treadmill.

So it was quite a shock for Thor to see the inventor casually coming through the door, as if he owned the whole room (which he technically did, of course).

“Hey, Thor,” Tony said and sat down on a nearby bench. “Fancy a little chat?”

“What about?” Thor frowned.

Tony watched him lift his weights for a few seconds. The inventor wouldn't be able to bench press even  _ one _ of those monsters, but Thor was using them as some puny dumbbells.

“Oh, you know,” Tony said. “Your frost giant brother who's in love with me.”

One of the barbells met the floor with a deafening crash.

“How do you-”

“Come on, how  _ could _ I know it?” Tony smirked. “He told me, of course. Well, after I voiced my suspicions about it.”

“Suspicions,” Thor repeated.

“Yeah, you know, that's the weird thing about your Norse mythology, not everything is utter bullshit. I mean, yeah, it says nothing about Princess falling in love with a gorgeous Midgardian-”

“Stark,” Thor sighed.

“What? It says that he's a frost giant. I asked him about it, and he denied it, and he denied it so vehemently, that it was obvious that he  _ is _ . And I've convinced him to... tell me the truth.”

Thor closed his eyes and places the other barbell on the ground.

“So it's ended, then. Between you and Loki.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Tony blinked. “Oh, no. Please, tell me that you don't think that I  _ mind _ .”

“Well... Don't you?”

“Of course that I don't. What the actual  _ fuck _ is wrong with you guys? Hello, our parents, or nannies, in my case, don't tell us stories about the horrible monsters from Jotunheim when we're kids, there's just no reason for me to be disgusted or terrified or anything by Loki, fuck no! What  _ does _ make me feel very disgusted is the fact that your fucking father ever told those stories to  _ Loki _ , even though he knew damn well that he  _ is _ a Jotun. A wonderful parenting, yeah, making your child a fucking racist who'll be disgusted by  _ himself _ when he finds out.”

“I know,” Thor sighed. “Did Loki... show you?”

“Yeah. And he was fucking  _ trembling _ , as if he was afraid that I'd run away screaming. Oh, yeah, he let me kiss him, then immediately freaked out, changed back and disappeared. Your beloved fucking  _ Asgardians _ completely ruined him!”

“Yes,” Thor nodded. “And it is partly my fault. I was the one who wanted to slay all the frost giants when I was younger...”

“Oh. Great. Fucking fantastic,” said Tony and rolled his eyes.

“Tony, please. I didn't know. I swear that I didn't. And Loki knows that I love him all the same, and I don't care about his true skin.”

“That makes two of us,” Tony nodded. “Right. Fine. I just... I don't know. I just wanted you to know that I know, that's all.”

“I must say that I am... surprised by the fact that Loki told you the truth.”

“Yeah, I guess that it has something to do with that  _ in love _ thing.”

Thor sat down next to Tony.

“But you... You are not...”

“Nope,” said Tony. “Well... Not yet. Maybe I will. Yeah, I think that I might fall for Loki. I can't promise you anything.”

“I understand, of course.”

“But let me tell you one thing, even if I don't  _ fall _ , I will try not to break his heart. And I won't allow anyone else to do it. And I will protect him, even if Odin ever comes to take him away from me. I mean, from  _ us _ . I will do anything I can-”

“I hope so. Because I, too, will do anything to protect my brother. Even if it means fighting you.”

“No one is going to fight anyone,” said a cold voice next to them. “Seriously, Stark? You discuss our private affairs with my brother?”

“Holy shit, Princess!” Tony gasped. “How long have you been-”

“Long enough,” Loki smirked. “Oh, how lovely it is that you want to  _ protect _ me. But let me make this completely clear. I can  _ take care of myself _ !”

The wall above them exploded and both the god and the inventor found themselves covered with dust and pieces of plaster.

When they had finally stopped coughing, Loki was gone.

“Oh, great,” Tony rasped. “Well done. Both of us.”

 

Hours later, just as Clint walked out of the elevator on the roof, Loki materialized out of thin air just on the edge, sitting with his back to the railing.

“Oh. Hi,” Clint nodded. “Your boyfriend and your brother have been looking for you, you know? They look as if someone set their favorite toy on fire right in front of their eyes.”

“Maybe I should do just that,” Loki smirked. “Although fire won't harm Mjölnir. I tried.”

“So what happened?” Clint asked and sat down next to Loki. “You don't have to tell me, of course. Feel free to just sit here and look miserable.”

“You realized, didn't you? Well, Natasha did, probably, and if she did, she told you. I mean... about me and Anthony.”

“You mean that when you told him  _ I love you _ , you didn't mean it in a friendly way? Oh, yes.”

Loki looked up to the stars which had no right to be visible on the New York sky.

“I just can't help it,” he whispered. “I tried to stop myself, but...”

“I know what you mean,” Clint nodded, glancing up from his wristband. “It was the same with me and Nat. The more I tried not to fall in love, the faster I was falling. I told myself that she's a friend, she's the only person I can really trust... That made it even worse, by the way. I tried to convince myself that it's unprofessional, but hello, my professionalism went to hell the moment I decided not to kill her when they sent me to do it. So... Yeah. I know exactly what you're talking about.”

“But she loved you back, didn't she?”

“Yeah. If you mean that she told me when I told her. But it took us  _ years _ to say those words out loud and finally get together, even though we both sort of... knew. We nearly didn't say it at all, I told her after the battle with Thanos, and... I actually never heard her say it. She signed it. And when she says it, I can lip-read it. That's all I'll ever get with my hearing gone.”

“I'm sorry,” Loki murmured.

“It's fine. Really,” Clint shook his head. “Just tell me the reason why Tony looks like a kicked puppy.”

“Because he wants to protect me. And so does Thor,” Loki growled. “They both seem to think that I am some damsel in distress, a poor thing who's going to fall apart just because his feelings aren't reciprocated. Thor even tried threatening Anthony. But I don't need him to defend my honor. I am still Loki, the fact that I managed to fall in love with the stupidest mortal around doesn't change anything. If Anthony breaks my heart,  _ I _ will be the one who'll make him regret it, not  _ Thor _ .”

“I don't think they can help it, Loki. When you love someone, you just  _ want _ to protect them. Look at Nat. Most of the time, she should be the one protecting  _ me _ , because she's clearly the better fighter and... everything except archer, probably. But I'm still nervous whenever she's out of my sight during a fight. I would take a bullet for her, anytime, and I wouldn't hesitate for a second. And don't tell me that you wouldn't do the same for Thor or Tony.”

“That's not the same.”

“Isn't it? How is it different, then?” Clint smirked.

“I grew up with Thor, we... He's my  _ brother _ . We used to fight side by side, we just  _ had to _ protect each other to even survive. I admit that most of the time, I was the one trying to protect  _ him _ when he was too arrogant to notice an enemy right behind his back, but... And Anthony doesn't love me like  _ that _ .”

“Really, Loki? That's the answer of the famous Silver tongue?”

“Shut up, Barton,” Loki muttered.

“I won't force you to talk to them,” said Clint. “And Thor is probably used to you giving him the cold shoulder. But Tony is seriously wretched. And he's afraid that you'll do something totally stupid and they'll drag you back to Asgard, so just... Please, stop hiding and at least tell him that you're in the tower and you'll talk to him when you feel like it?”

Loki shrugged.

“Fine. Fine, I'll do that.”

“Thanks,” Clint smiled. “And you could... Oh, never mind. Just teleport yourself away, it's fine, you don't even have to say bye or good night or anything. Just go to your poor sad darling. And you could have left the stars on, too...”

 

Tony was currently in his flat, pouring himself his third glass of scotch when Loki appeared right behind him.

“You're not getting drunk, Anthony, are you?”

“Oh, fucking finally,” Tony whispered and placed the glass back on the counter, but he didn't turn around. “Please, tell me you haven't gotten yourself in trouble.”

“I haven't,” said Loki. “I'm sorry, Anthony, I wasn't in the mood.”

“Of course you weren't,” Tony muttered. “By the way, the gym will be out of order for the next few days, while the wall is being repaired. The rest of the team will want to thank you for that.”

“I am sorry,” Loki sighed and wrapped his arms around Tony's torso. “Maybe I overreacted a little.”

“A little, yeah.”

“A lot?”

“Maybe I'll be thrown out of the window for this, but yeah, a lot, baby. But I guess it was to be expected. You're my dramatic Space Princess, after all.”

“Anthony...”

“We're good, yeah? You're not mad at me anymore.”

“I'm not, love.”

“Good,” Tony smiled. “I hate it when you're mad at me.”

He felt Loki's lips against the crown of his head and the god's arms tightening around him. And for the first time since the gym incident, he felt calm and relaxed, even though his heart started to beat a little bit faster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, darlings. Guess who's back! My holiday was pretty great and now I'm really inspired to write more and more of this story. So let's hope the updates will be as fast as they used to be. I'll certainly try to write and post the next chapter as soon as I can. :) In the meantime, thank you so much for your comments, everyone! :)


	41. Chapter 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony's blind just as much as Clint's deaf. Or maybe he's just stupid. But on the other hand, so is Loki. Those two just know how to piss each other off...

For the next two weeks, they spent most of the days (and some nights) together in the workshop, Tony furiously working on the teleporter prototype, Loki sometimes helping him (but mostly, Tony had Bruce for help, Loki was more of a magical consultant than a fellow scientist), sometimes just watching Doctor Who, sometimes studying his healing magic.

Of course that his studies often involved mutilating his clones, which made Tony more uncomfortable than he would ever admit.

All right, maybe he had admitted it once. Maybe twice. Maybe ten times or... something like that.

Most of the time, he admitted it by cursing and muttering something about crazy psychopaths, or maybe shouting at Loki a little, or pouring a glass of scotch.

The truth was, it was making him more than just uncomfortable. It made him scared and sad. But he wouldn't admit those feelings even to himself. He would vehemently deny that once or twice during the two weeks, he woke up with images of the clone's dead eyes,  _ Loki's _ dead eyes, in his head, and that he always had to take a few deep breaths and focus on the warmth of Loki's body behind him, a strong arm around his chest and the god's occasional light snore to convince himself that  _ Loki isn't dead, Loki is right there with him, Loki's just fine _ .

Because Loki didn't even use his own bedroom anymore. He always slept in Tony's bed, even when they didn't have sex. Tony was fine with it. More than fine, actually. He adored being held close to Loki's chest every night and waking up to those green eyes and thin lips smiling at him.

And the sight of Loki making pancakes just in his boxers and the Stark Industries T-shirt he had stolen from Tony's closet... That was just priceless. And Tony would also deny that it sent a shiver down his spine every time, but it did.

 

“Holy shit, Loki!” the inventor yelled one day in a workshop, when Loki suddenly conjured a sword and stabbed the clone straight through the chest. “Can't you at least warn me?!”

The clone slid down to the floor, breathing heavily.

“Oh, come on, Stark,” Loki smirked and knelt beside the clone. “I was stabbed like that, and I'm alive.”

“You  _ what _ ?!” Tony gasped.

Loki's hand was glowing green, which was hardly a rare occurrence lately, but it fascinated Tony nevertheless.

“I was stabbed. In Svartalfheim. Years ago,” Loki sighed. “They thought that I had died, which allowed me to start impersonating Odin. Well, purely technically, I  _ did _ die, but... I came back for some reason. Or I was sent back, I don't know. I can't remember.”

Tony placed the not even half-finished teleporter on the table and walked over to Loki, trying not to look at the clone on the floor. Which was clearly dead, its unfocused eyes staring at the ceiling. Loki made it vanish with a wave of his hand. Tony sighed and sat down.

“Are you seriously telling me that you were dead?” he whispered. “When Thor told us that you'd died...”

“It was just... an hour or two, I guess,” Loki shrugged. “I suspect Hela had something to do with me coming back. Maybe she didn't want me dead. Or she knew I had some unfinished business. You know, defeating Thanos, being exiled to Midgard and so on...”

“You were dead? You... You really died?”

“Anthony?” Loki frowned. “What's wrong?”

“I just... I can't believe...” Tony bit his lower lip and took Loki's hand into his. “I don't want to imagine you dead, that's all. I mean, hey, you're the almost immortal god right here, you'll still be around hundreds of years after I've kicked the bucket.”

“Oh, I doubt that, my love,” said Loki. “I think that Odin will soon find a reason to... execute my sentence. He probably dreams about my dead, preferably headless body-”

He was silenced by a hard slap across his face.

“Don't you  _ ever _ dare talking like that again!” Tony heard himself shouting, felt his heart beating rapidly, his brain panicking. “Seriously, I tell you that I don't want to imagine you dead and you just start about your own beheading?!”

“Do you think that the threat will disappear just because I won't talk about it?” Loki smirked and got to his feet. “Because it will not, Stark. Deal with it, I'm one step away from being brought back to face the punishment for my crimes. I might not even be here when you finish the teleporter. The Einherjar may come for me tomorrow, if Odin decides that I don't deserve my chance to live after all!”

“Well, they can't have you,” said Tony. “I won't give you to anyone.”

“And what do you think you'll do, Stark?”

“I'll die protecting you if I have to.”

“You won't.”

“Oh, yes, I will. I'd rather be dead than-”

“No. Please, no,” Loki croaked. “Please. I don't want to die with the knowledge that you are dead because of me. I'm not worth it.”

“Yes, you are, Princess.”

“No, I am not,” Loki shook his head. “And I want you to promise me that if they ever come for me, you will not try to protect me.”

“You can't be-”

“Please, Anthony.”

Tony sighed, closed his eyes and shrugged.

“Whatever.”

“Thank you,” Loki nodded. “And... Anthony, please, don't fall in love with me. Because if you do, they might want to drag you to Asgard with me to watch my execution.”

“Fine,” Tony nodded. “I won't fall in love with you. Could you just sit back down, please?”

“Why? So I could kill another clone?”

“Yeah. Something like that. But could you please, please make clones of Odin to practice on? Or... I don't know, Hitler or something. Or some movie villain. Just please, not  _ you _ , I really hate watching you die over and over again.”

“They're not  _ me _ , Anthony-”

“Don't care, they've got your face. That's enough for me.”

The next moment, Tony's perfect copy was standing next to Loki.

“Would this be better?” the god smirked, while the clone winked and grinned at its model.

“I should probably be alarmed by the fact that you want to kill me, but considering it's you we're talking about, I guess it's fine. Just one question.”

“Yes, Anthony?”

“My ass isn't really that big, is it?”

“Yes, Anthony,” Loki smiled. “It is.”

“Okay,” Tony nodded and got up. It was just weird to stand face to face with, well, himself. Especially if this version of himself had its hand in the back pocket of Loki's tight jeans and generally looked very much...

“Anthony?” Loki frowned.

“What?” Tony blinked. “Oh, yes. Time to hit the gym. That ass got  _ way _ too big.”

The clone disappeared and Tony found himself wrapped in a tight hug.

“Don't you dare,” Loki whispered into his ear. “I adore your butt. You have no idea what it does to me.”

“So tell me, Princess,” Tony murmured. “Convince me that you're still alive.”

“I am sorry, sir,” said Jarvis suddenly, “but the Doombots have been spotted in Los Angeles.”

“The teleporting kind?” Tony sighed as Loki's arms let go of him.

“I'm afraid so, sir.”

“Good. Time to properly test our brand new anti-teleportation device,” Tony grinned and grabbed said prototype from the nearby table. “Don't think I'll forget about the convincing, Princess, that's still gonna happen when we get back home.”

“I'm counting on it,” Loki smiled. “Go save the world. Or at least the city.”

“Jarvis, I want the suit ready for me by the jet when we get there,” said Tony and took a few steps towards the elevator. “What are you waiting for, Princess? Come on, you can magic up your armor on our way upstairs.”

Loki blinked.

“My armor?”

“Yes, of course. Hey, we're not sure this baby's gonna work, so in case that it  _ doesn't _ , we need something... well,  _ someone _ who can stop those bots. And I'm definitely not gonna let you wander through the battlefield in  _ my _ Black Sabbath T-shirt. Come on, Princess.”

“You're seriously asking me to-”

“I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. You're coming with us. Chop chop, sweetie, we've got work to do!”

And so Loki let himself be dragged into the elevator, and then into the jet, and then taken by the jet to LA.

Not a single Avenger asked what he was doing there, but Thor was grinning during the whole journey.

 

“Oh, for gosh sake, Stark, will you just stop twitching?”

“I'm telling you, I don't need your healing, Lokes. It's just a cut and a few bruises.”

“I don't care. I don't want to look at them, so I'm going to heal them.”

“Space Princess...”

“Shush.”

“But really, it doesn't even hurt that much, it's just slightly unpleasant.”

“You won't shut up, will you?” Loki sighed.

Tony stubbornly averted his gaze from Loki and looked at the pilot seat of the jet, in which Steve was sitting.

“You know,  _ I _ was supposed to drive us home.”

“Oh, yes. That's why you fell into this seat the moment you got out of the suit. You're way too tired to pilot, Anthony.”

“Maybe, but I don't need your healing. You know, your chin looks terrible.”

“It will be fine by the morning, no need to heal it. And it will make me remember that I should  _ not _ go near the Hulk, because he's still not very fond of me.”

Bruce, who was sitting near them, curled into a little ball, gave Loki a tiny embarrassed smile.

“And look at Cap, he's got a serious cut on his arm.”

“Which, too, will heal very soon without my magic.”

“And you think the tiny bruise on my shoulder won't?”

“You know what? Fine,” Loki snapped and the pleasant warm feeling disappeared from Tony's muscles, leaving just pain and stiffness. “Let your body heal itself. Drug yourself if the pain is too much for you, or get drunk, whatever. I don't care. Just pretend that you're a demigod or a supersoldier, if it makes you feel better. Enjoy the pain, that makes you a true  _ superhero _ , doesn't it?!”

“Princess-”

“Don't call me Princess,” Loki hissed. “I love you, I don't want to see you in pain, is that so horrible?! Why the fuck are you looking at me like that?”

“I...” Tony bit his lower lip and shrugged. “It's probably the first time you've actually... told me.”

“It's not.”

“Well, yeah, but the first time I thought it was a joke, so...”

“So?” Loki frowned.

“I... I don't know. Nothing,” said Tony and shook his head. “I'm sorry. Could you please finish healing my shoulder? It's a bit more than just uncomfortable, I admit.”

Loki sighed. The warmth returned to Tony's muscles.

Clint rolled his eyes and tried very hard not to groan.

-Can I kill him?- he signed to Natasha. -Please.-

She shook her head.

-Give him time.-

-How long?-

She shot a quick glance to Tony, whose hand was currently gently stroking Loki's knee.

-No idea. He is an idiot.-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I seriously don't know what happened here, and how it happened, and why it happened... They're just idiots, okay? Both of them. And they have sort of taken over this chapter. So this is not my fault, it's theirs. Mostly Tony's. (Oh, my, I sound crazy, don't I? Well, let me just tell you that I had to rewrite a part of this chapter, because they'd really gone too far at one point...)  
> As always, thank you for all your wonderful comments. I've got the next chapter pretty much planned, so it shouldn't take too long to write it... ;)


	42. Chapter 42

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony's injuries from the battle are healed, but he's still tired. And Loki's a bit too frank. That leads to some serious and uncomfortable talks...

Loki placed a giant mug of coffee on the table in front of Tony.

“Will this be enough?” he asked.

Tony cracked one of his brown eyes open and yawned.

“Oh, yes,” he murmured. “Thanks, Princess.”

“How do you feel, love?” Loki sighed and sat down next to him, holding his own cup of coffee.

“Great. Can't you see?” the inventor grinned. “No, really, I'm fine. Just tired. You are becoming a pretty good healer.”

“Oh, no, it's just that with you, I'm trying really hard. Besides, it was only a few bruises. The hardest part was to last out your fussing.”

“Blah blah blah.”

“That's what I'm talking about,” Loki nodded. “Oh, Anthony, you really do look very tired...”

“That's why I asked you to make me... this,” Tony said and picked up his coffee mug. “Caffeine, Princess. Fixes more problems than alcohol.”

“I wonder if it will fix that stupid inferiority complex of yours,” Loki muttered.

“I'm sorry, what?” Tony blinked.

“Nothing.”

“You said  _ inferiority complex _ , I heard you. What the fuck did you mean by that?!”

“In the first place, I didn't mean to say it out loud.”

“Yeah, of course that you didn't. Loki, seriously.”

“Seriously, I didn't.”

“Loki!”

“I wonder where did the Princess disappear to?”

“The Princess will come back when you stop being a prick.”

“Fine. As you wish,” Loki shrugged. “I really didn't want to talk about it, but if it's your desire to argue, fine. I have spent some time thinking about this and I think that I know why you don't want me to heal those minor injuries.”

“Do you? Shoot.”

“They just make you feel good enough, don't they? You enjoy having bruises, because you think they prove that you're worthy of being an Avenger.”

“That's probably the most stupid-”

“Jarvis, do you have a sound file of the time during the invasion when Mr. Stark threatened me? I mean the part when he enumerated the members of The Avengers for me.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Play it.”

“ But let's do a head count here,” said Tony's voice from the ceiling. “Your brother, the demi-god; a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins, and  _ you _ , big fella-”

“Enough,” said Loki. “Where in that head count was the  _ Iron Man _ , Anthony?”

“Uhm, standing in front of you, if I remember it correctly.”

“Anthony.”

“Okay, I failed to mention myself, so what?”

“So I think that  _ you _ think you don't belong.”

“I'm sorry, are you my therapist? Do I have to pay you for this psychoanalysis, or is it for free? Can I pay by sex?”

“ _ Anthony _ .”

“So  _ what _ if I think I don't belong?” Tony snapped. “I don't. Look at us, they don't even like the same movies as I do. I'm the weird nerdy sciency type. And my physical condition? It's just like Steve said it back then, I'm nothing without my armor. I'm useless. Look at them. Thor could probably take down this whole building with a swing of his hammer if he wanted-”

“Thor is an Asgardian and Mjölnir is one of the mightiest weapons in all the realms.”

“Cap's super strong-”

“The serum, Anthony.”

“Bruce-”

“You don't want to go there, do you? You know that he would probably give everything to get rid of the beast.”

“Okay, fair point. But then... Take the Spy Kids. Natasha's super strong and super intelligent, a terrific fighter and just a general badass. Piss her off and you should just go and dig your own  _ grave _ . And Clint's the world's best archer, seriously, he never misses, you know that, and he's kind of clever, too, in his own way, and brave, and they're both  _ human _ , but they know how to fight without their weapons.”

“Because both of them have been trained since they were children to  _ become _ a weapon.”

“Yeah. And I've been trained to accept the fact that I'm useless, so that's what  _ I'm _ good at.”

“Who  _ trained _ you?” Loki gaped.

“Who do you think? My daddy dearest,” Tony smirked and took a gulp of his coffee. “The point is, without my armor, I'm useless. I'm a genius, right. I'm the man who built the armor. I get that. But I'm still the weakest one. I mean... Tony Stark is. I don't want to be weak, I don't want them to  _ see _ that I am weak. Which is kind of hard to achieve when you're fussing over every tiny bruise.”

“You weren't even able to  _ move your shoulder _ properly!”

“It would heal. Stark men are made of iron.”

“I will not ask who told you  _ that _ piece of crap.”

“Don't. And please... Don't talk about it anymore. It's not an inferiority complex, okay? It's just that... I will never be as good as them. That's a  _ fact _ . But I don't want to make it too obvious that I won't.”

For several long seconds, Loki just stared into his eyes.

“Oh, Anthony,” he then sighed. “We are both so very  _ fucked up _ , aren't we?”

 

In spite of all the coffee, Tony fell asleep only a hour later. When Loki noticed, he carried the inventor to his, well,  _ their _ bedroom and took off his clothes.

“Sleep well, love,” he then murmured and kissed Tony's temple. “I will be right back.”

He quietly left the bedroom so Tony wouldn't wake up.

“Jarvis?” he said when he had closed the door. “Please, tell the team that I need to speak with them. Immediately. In the common living room. If Anthony wakes up, inform him that I am reading and then let me know, so I can teleport into  _ his _ living room and pretend that I  _ am _ reading.”

“Of course, sir. I would like to mention that I probably know what you are planning to do. And... Thank you, sir.”

“You're welcome, Jarvis.”

 

Tony should have known something was amiss from the moment he stepped into the common living room.

It was ten in the morning, yet every member of the team was present. Tony knew Steve's trainings always started at half past nine, he had no right to sit in that armchair at ten. And Bruce had mentioned the day before that he wanted to enjoy a quiet day in his apartment, reading. And Thor usually wasn't around at ten, either. The Spy Kids were wherever they wanted to be and whenever they wanted to be there, so their presence wasn't very conspicuous, but...

But the way Loki forced Tony to sit down on the couch and held him down, and the way all of them were looking at him, that was  _ very _ conspicuous.

“Hello, Tony,” said Natasha and gave him her most dangerous smile. “How about a little chat?”

“A what?” Tony blinked.

“Be a good boy,” Natasha continued, “and Loki might bring you your coffee and your breakfast.”

“Guys, this is not fucking funny.”

“Yeah, I completely agree,” Steve nodded. “We really didn't think it was fucking  _ funny _ when Loki told us yesterday.”

“Told you...” Suddenly, Tony gulped. “Princess? Please tell me you haven't told  _ them _ .”

“Told them what, love?” Loki's sweet voice asked. “Oh, you mean told them about our little chat yesterday, about you being the weakest link of the team, the weird clever kid no one is apparently supposed to like, the one who has to be strong, even though he's barely able to stand?”

“Yeah. Exactly that.”

“Why would I tell them that, my dear?”

“Loki? Breakfast. Please,” Natasha sighed. “I'm warning you, Tony. If you try to run away, we've got Mjölnir ready to keep you in place, don't we, Thor?”

“We do,” the god nodded.

“Princess, I'm so gonna kill you.”

“Whatever you wish,” said Loki and kissed Tony's temple. “I'll be back with your coffee in a minute.”

When Loki had disappeared into the kitchen, Bruce was the first one to speak.

“So... How long, Tony?”

“How long what?” the engineer stubbornly asked.

“Tony,” Bruce sighed.

“What do you think? Always,” Tony smirked. “It's pretty obvious that I'm not like you all. Well, except you, Brucie. I'm not super strong, I'm not super agile, I'm not a super sharpshooter or a super assassin-”

“You're super smart, you idiot,” Clint growled. “And probably also super mad if you think that you're the weakest link. If someone is, it's clearly  _ me _ . You are the genius of the team, you are the one who creates all our weapons, you've made so many improvements on my bow and arrows, you made me these subtitles, so I know what you guys are talking about again, and if there was  _ something _ from my hearing left, I know you would make me the best hearing aids in the whole world.”

“And I don't understand why do you think that you should be ashamed of yourself for getting injured,” said Thor. “You are a mighty warrior, you should wear your wounds proudly and-”

“That's just some Asgardian bullshit, Thor,” Tony sighed.

“Better than  _ Stark men are made of iron _ ,” Steve said. “I loved Howard, but this is just a stupid thing to tell your son. Especially when I don't remember  _ him _ being  _ made of iron _ most of the time.”

“But you guys just don't  _ get it _ -”

“Trust me, we do,” said Natasha. “You think that we don't love you because you're... weak and weird.”

“Maybe a little bit,” Tony shrugged.

“Well, we probably can't convince you that we love the so-called  _ weak _ Tony,” Steve smiled. “But if you want to join me for a training session sometimes to become less  _ weak _ , feel free to do so.”

“We can, however, convince you that we love our  _ weird _ Tony,” Natasha continued. “Clint?”

“The Lord of the Rings marathon!” the archer announced. “And we're all gonna watch it with you, and we're gonna listen to your commentary! Well, they're gonna listen, I have a little advantage here, so...”

“Are you serious?” Tony gaped. “You are willing to... to... watch a movie you don't even like just to convince me that you love me?”

“Just don't take it personally if I doze off,” Bruce grinned.

“Loki?” Tony shouted. “Maybe I won't kill you after all.”

“I will,” Thor muttered. “The movie was his idea.”

Tony laughed.

Five minutes later, he was comfortably nestled against Loki's side and sipping his coffee as the Lord of the Rings began to play.

 

It was during the break between The Two Towers and The Return of the King, just as Steve went to pick up the pizzas they had ordered for their early dinner, when Tony realized that he had never felt happier in his life than in that very moment, with his head on Loki's chest, the god's arm around his waist, caressing him softly. Never, not even with Pepper, had he felt safer and more content.

That was the moment when the realization suddenly hit.

“Oh, fuck,” Tony whispered.

“Mhm?” Loki murmured.

Tony lifted his head and stared right into Loki's green eyes, his heart suddenly beating like mad, a wide grin spreading across his face.

“I have just realized something very, very interesting.”

“That it doesn't make sense for the elves to come to their aid in Helm's Deep, because they would have to leave Lothlórien right after the Fellowship did?” Loki smirked.

“Uhm, no. But thanks, you've just convinced me that the realization's totally right.”

“What realization, my dear Anthony?”

Tony's grin grew even wider, probably wider than humanly possible.

“That I love you, Space Princess.”

Loki just stared at him for a few seconds, which seemed like an eternity to Tony. He even started to wonder if he should have kept his stupid mouth shut, because yeah, Loki had told him not to fall in love, right? So maybe it wasn't one of his brightest ideas to-

But then Loki started to laugh, and he kissed Tony, hungrily, still chuckling, and wrapped both his arms around the inventor, holding him closer.

“I love you,” Tony whispered again, just because he wanted to say it, because he wanted Loki to  _ know _ . “I love you, Princess...”

“Oh, God,” said Clint's voice. “Fucking  _ finally _ !”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, well, you know. 42 is the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything, so of course that this needed to happen in chapter 42. Also, it's about time, isn't it? Especially because I nearly let Tony declare his feelings in the last chapter already. There was literally no way to keep him under my control much longer, he just wanted to say it. And it's not like anyone minds. :D  
> As always, thank you very much for your comments! :)


	43. Chapter 43

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A nice, quiet morning. More like noon, really. Loki's making pancakes and Tony's in love. Everything's fine. But will it last?

“ _No more war pigs have the power_...”

Tony couldn't believe it when he heard Loki's voice from his kitchen, quietly singing.

“ _Hand of God has struck the hour_...”

When the inventor entered the room, the first thing he saw was Loki's ass in tight black boxers, swinging from side to side a little as the god danced in front of the stove.

“ _Day of judgment God is calling_...”

The T-shirt Loki was wearing was a little too short for him, so Tony supposed that it was one of his, again. The god was so busy making pancakes that it seemed he had no idea Tony was even there. Not that the inventor minded, hell no, it was beautiful to watch Loki like this.

“ _On their knees the war pig's crawling_... Good morning, love. Well, almost good afternoon. I hope you don't mind having pancakes for your breakfast, slash, lunch.”

“Were you just singing a Black Sabbath song, Princess?” Tony grinned.

“Well,” Loki smiled and turned his head to look at Tony. “I do spend an awful lot of time with you, and this song is on your workshop playlist, so I think it has just... rubbed off on me somehow?”

“Don't lie to me, my little Space Princess. You like the bit about crawling on knees, don't you?”

“Oh, Anthony, what do you think of me?”

“Right now or... globally?”

“Right now.”

“That you're the man I love.”

“Anthony...”

The god felt Tony's arms sneak around his waist from behind and holding him tight.

“I'm a total idiot,” Tony murmured, burying his face in Loki's long hair. “I really didn't notice. How could I not notice? It's so fucking obvious.”

“Maybe you were too afraid to notice,” Loki shrugged. “Or you simply didn't want to. Or... I don't know. It still seems so weird to me.”

“What does?”

“Everything. I just... People don't fall in love with me, Anthony. They have sex with me, they enjoy it, and they enjoy my friendship, or... something close to friendship, because I have never thought I had _friends_ until I ended up in this bloody tower. No one has ever truly fallen in love with me, not even Sigyn, and we nearly got married.”

“How can you know that no one has _ever_ been in love with you?”

“Well, no one has ever told me. No one has ever treated me as if they were.”

“And have _you_ ever been in love?”

“Not like this,” Loki sighed. “Anthony, it's kind of hard to make pancakes with you standing right behind me.”

“You're not mad at me, are you, Princess?” Tony muttered.

“Why should I be?” Loki blinked.

“Because... Because you told me not to fall in love with you. And I did. But you know, it was already too late when you told me. Fuck, I've been in love with you for weeks, probably. You know what? You're right. It's all so weird...”

“If Odin ever harms you, I won't forgive myself until the day I die,” Loki whispered. “Because it will be my fault.”

“He won't harm me. And if he does, you'll probably die the very same day anyway.”

Tony's arms tightened around the god.

“Sit down,” said Loki. “Your breakfast is ready.”

“Not hungry.”

“Well, you'd better _become_ hungry, and very quickly.”

“Wanna keep hugging you,” said Tony and closed his eyes. “You smell so nice. Is that my shower gel?”

“You can hug me again once you've eaten your breakfast. Now _sit_.”

“But Princess...”

“Please, Anthony?”

“Manipulative bastard,” Tony sighed and let go of his god to go and sit on the nearby bar stool. “There. Happy?”

“Yes,” Loki nodded and placed the plate of pancakes in front of Tony. “Enjoy your breakfast.”

“Princess, are you wearing the T-shirt I was wearing when I threatened you?”

Loki glanced down at his chest and smiled.

“I wondered if you'd notice. Do you like it?”

“Definitely not,” Tony shook his head. “It looks terrible on you. You should take it off right now. Oh, and those boxers too. Also maybe bend over the kitchen counter while you're at it and I-”

“Oh, Anthony,” Loki laughed.

“But really, it looks hot,” said Tony and licked his lips. “Of course you don't look as dangerous as I did, but-”

“ _You_ 're missing the point,” said Loki and suddenly, his whole posture and expression changed. He was standing tall and proud (which was especially hard to achieve without any pants), with a perfect poker face, his green eyes seemingly piercing Tony's soul itself. “There is no throne. _There is no version of this_ where _you come out_ on _top_.”

“Oh, fuck,” Tony gasped. “Okay, dangerous and hot, I get it. Also, who gave you the right to quote me, eh?”

“Do you realize that you were completely wrong back then?” Loki asked, his body and face completely relaxed again. “I don't mean about the throne, just... about the top.”

“What do you... Hey!”

“When it comes to you, I definitely come out on top. Most of the time.”

“Oh, yes. Just because I love being fucked,” Tony smirked. “And because when _you're_ the one bottoming, you always nearly go mad. Although I admit that it feels just so good, knowing that I can reduce a _god_ into a moaning, whimpering mess...”

“Eat your pancakes, Anthony, and you might get a chance to, well, _reduce me_ later.”

“So you _will_ take off the T-shirt and the boxers and bend over the counter?”

“We'll see about that when I've had my breakfast.”

“I love you, Princess.”

“Do you mean to say those words ten times a day now?” Loki asked, but Tony could see his green eyes shining with happiness.

“Yes,” he nodded.

“I love you too, Anthony.”

 

The door of the kitchen counter was cold against Loki's forehead. The god was moaning softly as Tony's palms roamed all over his upper body, paying special attention to his chest and nipples.

Loki was still wearing his underwear. Tony refused to let him take it off yet. Loki didn't really mind. He had been kind of promised a quick fuck, but this was a nice change of plans. He only closed his eyes and focused on the inventor's rough fingertips on his skin, so nice, so sexy...

He moaned a little louder when he felt the heat of Tony's torso against the whole of his back, the fingers moving slowly but steadily down, towards the hem of Loki's boxers.

Of course that was exactly the moment when Jarvis had to speak.

“Sir, I am so very sorry to interrupt, but miss Potts is on her way upstairs.”

“Oh, not _now_!” Tony growled, biting into Loki's shoulder blade, making the god gasp for breath. “What the hell does she want?”

“I have no idea, Anthony, but she probably shouldn't find us like this,” Loki made himself say.

“You'd rather if she found us already fucking, right?” Tony sighed.

“Well...” Loki chuckled.

“No way. I won't let her see you naked. She'd want to steal you from me.”

“She probably shouldn't see me at all. You said she doesn't like the idea of you and me being friends, what would she think of _this_? I'll teleport to Thor's flat and I'll come back when she's gone, how about that?”

“How about no?” Tony smirked. “Just... make yourself presentable. You're my Princess. Pepper's gonna have to deal with it, because you're not going away.”

Loki's smile was brighter than the lights shimmering around his body as he changed into his usual black jeans and a red Iron Man T-shirt. (And Tony made a mental note to buy more Iron Man T-shirts for his lover, because seeing him wearing them was hotter than anything.)

Just a few seconds later, they heard a familiar (well, familiar to Tony) clicking of stilettos on the marble floor as Pepper walked out of the elevator. She didn't notice them at first, standing in the kitchen, but when she did, she stopped dead in her tracks.

“Oh,” she said. “You're not alone.”

“Nope,” Tony replied. “Fine, you can finally meet officially, even though you know who the other one is, of course. Loki, Pepper. Pepper, Loki. My ex-girlfriend, my current boyfriend.”

“Oh,” said Pepper again. “Okay.”

“And if you've got any problem with it, there's the door. Well, the elevator, technically,” Tony added. “But first, what was it that you wanted to tell me?”

“You're not answering your phone.”

“I got up like... not even an hour ago,” Tony shrugged. “Busy night. Right, Princess?”

“Anthony,” Loki rolled his eyes.

“You are not going to piss me off that easily,” Pepper commented. “There's a problem with the arc reactor in the Malibu facility. Nothing critical, they say it's just not working as it should, but no one there knows what to do with it. I thought you would like to know. And since you're the expert here, I thought...”

“Yeah, I'll fly there and fix it. You got any data for me? Readings and such?”

“No, I-”

“J, baby, arc reactor data from Malibu, please,” said Tony. “Pepper, would you please stop glaring at Loki? Thanks.”

“How can you, Tony?” she sighed. “Have you forgotten who he is?”

“Trust me, Pepper, don't go there,” Tony shook his head. “You've got no _idea_ who he is. This is not the guy from the invasion.”

“He looks like the guy from the invasion.”

“Well, but he isn't. But as I said, if you have any problem with him, bye bye.”

“Tony, what the hell is wrong with you? Is he mind controlling you?”

“Miss Potts, let me tell you one thing, if I _was_ , he definitely wouldn't _realize I was_ ,” Loki smirked. “But no, I am not, I assure you. I would need the spear for that. And believe me, if Natasha ever thought Anthony was under a spell of some kind, he would have a perfect chance to experience the same kind of cognitive recalibration Clint once did.”

“Well... Yes,” Tony nodded. “So there's no need to worry.”

“Oh, of course there isn't,” Pepper smirked. “Haven't you told me that she trusts him when we were in Japan? What if _she's_ -”

“Pepper!” Tony growled. “Shut up. I'm serious. There is no fucking spell, there is no mind control, there isn't anything. I fell in love with him, that's all. And it took me fucking long to start trusting him enough to fall, and... Fuck, I don't need to explain myself to you, you get it? Either you accept this as everyone else did, or you can go, and I mean _go_. I'll find another CEO if I have to, or I'm just gonna have to try and run the company myself again.”

“You can't be serious, Tony. You will choose _him_ -”

“ _Yes_ , I will!”

“Fine. As you wish,” she nodded and turned to leave. “Have a nice day, Mr. Stark.”

She clicked her way back to the elevator, which was already waiting for her.

When she was gone, Loki sighed.

“Anthony-”

“Not now, Princess. I've got work to do,” Tony muttered and walked to the center of the living room. “J, show me the reactor data. I need to sort this out ASAP. And if I find out it was something totally obvious, I swear I'm gonna fire everyone who couldn't find the fucking solution!”

Several holograms appeared in front of him, full of codes and numbers. Loki knew better than to interrupt him.

 

Pepper blinked when the elevator came to a stop just a few floors below Tony's apartment. Then the door opened and a redheaded spy gave Pepper a sweet smile.

“Miss Potts,” she said. “Would you like some coffee?”

“Natasha,” Pepper mumbled. “I'm sorry, but I'm really not in the mood for-”

“That wasn't a question. Get out of the elevator.”

“But I-”

“ _Now_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a strange feeling that those chapters are getting longer and longer, but I just can't help it. And I don't really think you mind. :D (I also have a feeling that I tend to make them unhappy way too often. I believe there might be some objections to that. Sorry!)  
> As always, thank you very much for your comments. I love you all! :)


	44. Chapter 44

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha's little chat with Pepper doesn't go very well at first. It might change a little when it's interrupted by a certain deity teleporting right in the middle of it. And it might change a lot when some unexpected news arrive...

“Sit down.”

“Natasha, this is really absolutely ridiculous, I-”

“Sit down, Pepper,” Natasha growled.

“How did you even know I was here?!”

“Jarvis alerted me, of course,” Natasha shrugged. “Clint, could you perhaps... grab your bow and go practice a little?”

“Oh, don't worry,” the archer grinned. “I won't listen to you.”

“Clint.”

“Okay, okay,” he sighed and got up from his armchair. “Hi, Pepper. Please, don't be too sassy, I'd hate to have to hide your body. Ouch!”

“See you later, love,” said Natasha.

“Yeah. Later,” Clint muttered, rubbing his stinging ear. “Bye, Pepper.”

“Natasha, I mean it. I _won't_ -”

“No, Potts, _I_ mean it. You're gonna sit down and you're gonna listen to me.”

“Why?”

“Why?” Natasha blinked. “Because I'm telling you to. Because I'm fed up with you toying with Tony's feelings and not knowing what you want.”

“Excuse me? I know what I want, and it's not Tony!”

“Isn't it? _Good_ ,” Natasha nodded and sat on the sofa. “Because you had him, Potts. He loved you, he adored you, he was ready to make you his queen. When you left, he nearly fell apart. And trust me, even if he maybe still haven't realized, it was fucking hard to make him keep his shit together. I don't blame you, no, you had every right to leave him. Not everyone can deal with their partner being a superhero. I get it. But it was your choice to leave him.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” Pepper asked, sitting in the armchair.

“Because he's not yours anymore.”

“Yes, that's been kind of obvious for the past-”

“No, it wasn't. He still had some of those feelings for you left in him those past few months. He was still kind of yours. You must have noticed how depressed he got every bloody time you two went on some business trip. When he came back, he was always just a shadow of Tony Stark. But not anymore. He's found someone else, you get it? He's Loki's now.”

“You cannot possibly think that I disapprove of this because I am _jealous_ ,” Pepper frowned. “That's not the problem. _Loki_ -”

“You don't know him as we do,” Natasha shook her head. “I'm not saying everyone trusts him _completely_ , except for Clint and Tony. And Thor, obviously, but he would trust him with Loki's dagger buried into his stomach. But I don't think anyone trusts that he might betray us. We're more... cautious than anything. At least I am. Even though I love him as a friend.”

“And is that supposed to make me feel better? Maybe he won't _kill_ Tony, but how can you know he won't break his heart? He could vanish tomorrow if he wanted.”

“He could not. If he does, Asgardians are gonna find him and execute him. His exile here is his punishment for everything he's done.”

“You mean his exile in Tony's bed? What a punishment,” Pepper smirked. “And what- Oh my God, _Tony_!”

Natasha turned her head just to see the armor speeding past the window.

“What did he say this time, Jarvis?” she sighed.

“Mr. Stark found out how to fix the arc reactor in Malibu. Mr. Liesmith asked Mr. Stark not to blow himself up while doing so.”

“Let me guess,” Natasha smiled as Iron Man flew straight up again. “Tony asked what was Loki gonna do if he _did_ blow himself up?”

“Exactly, miss.”

“Did Loki at least open the window?”

“Excuse me?!” Pepper yelled. “Are you telling me that _maniac_ just threw Tony _out of the bloody window_ -”

“Relax, Potts. It's just a game they play, really. Well, mostly a game. Loki _knows_ the suit will always catch Tony. He would never harm him, trust me.”

“It definitely _looked like_ \- What the _fuck_?!”

“Oh,” blinked Loki, who'd appeared just several seconds earlier. “Miss Potts. I thought you'd left.”

“I certainly _tried to_ ,” Pepper growled. “But the resident assassin didn't let me.”

“Didn't she?” Loki frowned. “Bad Natasha. No cookies for you.”

“Bad Loki. What was that with the window?”

“Oh, I just wanted to save Anthony the trouble taking off.”

“You're completely crazy,” said Pepper. “Both of you! Natasha, I'm sorry, but this is really too much for-”

“ _Sit_ ,” said Natasha. “Loki, you too. We will have a little chat.”

“Is it necessary?” Loki sighed.

“ _Yes_. Or do you want Tony to feel bad because you and Pepper are fighting?”

“This is hardly fair, Natasha. Can I at least get some coffee?”

“Not from our pot. I found Clint drinking straight from it this morning.”

“I was about to go get ours, anyway. I mean, Anthony's. It's much better. Miss Potts, would you like a cup too?”

“Yes, miss Potts would,” said Natasha, not giving Pepper the chance to speak.

Loki nodded and disappeared. Pepper just gaped for a few seconds. Just as she gathered her wit enough to be able to speak again, Loki came back and placed a plain black cup in front of her, keeping the other one, the one with Iron Man design, the one Tony was very fond of. Then he sat next to Natasha, as if everything was completely normal, nothing out of the ordinary, yes, Norse gods always just teleport around the tower, why?

“All right,” the god said. “What did you want to talk about, dear?”

“Loki, could you please explain your feelings for Tony to miss Potts?” Natasha asked.

“Explain?” Loki frowned. “There's nothing to explain. I love him. I've traveled most of the nine realms, but I have never met anyone as amazing as him. That's... Pretty much it. Even though he sometimes gets on my nerves, I admit. Especially when he's his usual way too clever shit and starts talking about science.”

“And stops talking English,” Pepper added before she could stop herself.

“Yes,” Loki smiled. “It only gets worse when Bruce is around. Oh, well, I'm learning to understand him. I suppose it will get better in a few years.”

Pepper asked herself if Loki looked sincere enough. Yes, his smile appeared to be genuine, and there was a strange gleam in his eyes when he talked about Tony, but wasn't he the god of lies or something like that? He was probably a skilled actor. The question was, was he _that_ skilled?

But Tony looked so happy with him, and the way he'd gone into his full defensive mode earlier just because she disapproved of their relationship...

She closed her eyes. She might as well give him a chance.

“It won't. Not much,” she said. “And if it does, he'll find something even crazier and more difficult to understand to focus on...”

Pepper didn't see Natasha's victorious smile. Loki did. He just rolled his eyes.

 

An hour of cautious conversation later, Clint suddenly burst through the apartment door.

“Jarvis, turn on the TV!” he shouted.

The television screen flickered to life just as the archer came to a halt right next to Loki. An image of a large building appeared, a part of it collapsed, black smoke coming out of it.

“Oh, shit,” Natasha gasped. “That's Stark Industries in Malibu.”

“That's... That's where the arc reactor is,” said Pepper.

“What?!” Loki yelled.

Clint placed his hand firmly on the god's shoulder.

“Don't do anything stupid,” he warned. “Malibu is too far to get to without using Yggdrasil, isn't it?”

“But Anthony-”

“Don't do anything stupid,” Clint repeated. “He's seen worse. I'm sure he's fine.”

“You can't really believe that, Barton, not even you are that stupid!” Loki snarled.

“I am going to blame that one on you being stressed and pretend I haven't heard it. Or, you know, read it,” said Clint.

Just as Loki was opening his mouth to reply, the phone in his pocket vibrated. And he'd never been happier to hear the _Iron Man_ ringtone that immediately followed.

“Stark,” he gasped when he answered the call. “What the hell do you think you're-”

“Oh, so you've already heard about it,” said Tony's voice. “Don't worry, everyone got out in time, including me. I'm fine, I swear. Though probably not for long.”

“If you mean that I will kill you the moment I get my hands on you, you are completely right!”

“Good, at least I won't have to deal with the press,” Tony sighed. “God, I need to call Pepper. I need her to damage control this, she knows how it's done, I don't, but she'll probably tell me to fuck off after what I told her, fuck...”

“Wait a moment,” said Loki and lowered the phone. “Miss Potts, Anthony needs you to-”

“Give it to me,” she said and held out her hand. Loki placed his phone on her palm. “Tony,” Pepper said. “Sorry, that's none of your business. … Yes, I _can_ be everywhere, you idiot. So what do you need me to do? … Mhm. … Yes, of course. … Yes, I suppose I can do that. … Okay. I'll let you know as soon as we take off, yes. … See you later, Tony.”

She ended the call and handed the phone back to Loki.

“Pack a bag. Tony wants to stay at Malibu until he finds out what exactly did he screw up to make the reactor almost blow up in his face, and I need to go there to deal with the media.”

“And?” Loki blinked.

“And Tony wants me to bring you with me, obviously,” she said, fishing for her own phone in her bag. “Hurry up, we need to get there as soon as possible. I'll arrange everything while you're packing. We need to stop at my flat first, obviously, but that should be pretty quick.”

“Congrats,” said Natasha to Loki. “It seems you're gonna enjoy the flight in Tony's private jet. And his new Malibu mansion, of course.”

“I'm just glad that he's fine,” Loki sighed. “For a moment, I thought I'd lost him.”

Clint lightly squeezed Loki's shoulder.

“I told you. Tony's pretty hard to kill. You know, you tried, of course.”

“I said go pack your bags, for gosh sake!” Pepper yelled.

“And you're obviously gonna enjoy the company of one and only Pepper Potts,” Natasha added. “Have a nice time, darling.”

“That, my dear Natasha, was just mean,” Loki smirked.

 

Tony watched his private jet landing and his hands were trembling nervously. Partly because he was about to see Pepper, who was coming to save his sorry ass even after their argument just a few hours earlier, which meant he would have to apologize to her, and he hated apologizing. Partly because he was about to see Loki, and even though he didn't believe it for a second that the god would kill him, Tony knew his Princess would be very, very pissed off.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a pair of arms embrace him from behind, but then immediately relaxed when he recognized the very familiar smell of his own shower gel.

“Did you just teleport out of the plane, Princess?”

He felt Loki's lips against his temple, gentle and not angry at all.

“I love you,” the god whispered.

“Aren't you killing me?”

“Later,” said Loki. “With sex.”

“Oh, I am so very okay with that,” Tony chuckled. “I'm sorry, Loki. I don't know what happened, I didn't notice anything was wrong until it was too late. I guess the moral of the story is don't toy with potentially dangerous stuff when you're mad because you just can't concentrate on it properly.”

“I could have told you that,” Loki murmured. “Once, I accidentally blasted off a whole wall of my study and made a me-shaped hole into the opposite one, just because I was angry at Odin and hadn't read the instructions for the spell properly.”

“Oh, I'd like to see that,” Tony laughed. “Was your flight okay?”

“You mean this one or the one through a wall centuries ago?”

“This one.”

“Yes. Pretty much okay.”

“How about Pepper?”

“Pretty much okay,” Loki repeated as Pepper got off the plane. “You should thank Natasha, by the way.”

“I knew she has something to do with this,” Tony growled. “Okay, okay. I will.”

“Go greet your friend,” Loki whispered and let go of the inventor. “I won't get jealous if you hug her, I promise.”

So Tony took a few steps forward and practically threw himself into Pepper's arms. He was glad when she didn't try to push him away, and hugged him back instead.

For some reason, the apology wasn't as hard as he had thought it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhm, okay. I admit this came a bit out of nowhere, even for me. But it's there for a reason, I swear! Also, Tony, you should really stop making every situation a dangerous one, or Loki might as well really kill you himself so he doesn't have to worry about you every time you as much as change a light bulb...  
> As always, thank you very much for your comments! :)


	45. Chapter 45

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper really tries to be nice to Loki and Tony discovers how did the explosion happen. Otherwise it's mostly fluff.

“I'm so gonna kill him for this...”

Loki looked up from his phone and raised an eyebrow as he watched Pepper fall into the nearest armchair.

“Hello, miss Potts. Nice to see you too,” he said. “I hope you aren't expecting me to ask _who_ and _for what_.”

“Definitely not,” she shook her head.

“Although I must warn you that if you mean it, I will protect Anthony with my own life.”

“Good,” Pepper smiled. “No, I don't really mean it. It's just... This is too much even for me. This _shitstorm_ is getting out of hand. Of course, Tony has blown up many things in his life, I don't even know how many times he's destroyed at least a part of his workshop, but this, this is a little too much.”

“Well, he destroyed an entire building,” Loki shrugged.

“That's not the important part. He blew up the _arc reactor_. We present it as clean and _safe_ energy, and the explosion means it's not as safe as we claim it to be. And what's even worse, Tony still doesn't _know_ why it exploded. Or does he?”

“The last time I talked to him, he was still in the Stark Industries, going through all the data.”

“I'm gonna go mad. I swear I'm gonna go mad,” Pepper muttered. “You're free to keep him. I don't want him. He's driving me insane.”

“I will keep him, don't worry. Even if you _did_ want him, I wouldn't give him back. As long as Anthony wants _me_ , nothing will keep me from him.”

Pepper took a few seconds to eye the god carefully, focusing on his face and eyes and the way he was just slightly biting his lower lip.

“Oh, my,” she said. “You really love him, don't you?”

Loki didn't get a chance to answer, because Tony choose that very moment to land on the terrace with quite a lot of noise.

“And look who's home,” Loki smiled as Tony's armor quickly disassembled itself from his body.

Only a moment later, Tony walked through the door leading to the living room.

“I don't get it why can't you just _drive_ ,” Pepper rolled her eyes.

“This is much quicker,” Tony grinned as he bent over the backrest of Loki's couch. “Hello, sweetie.”

“Hello, Anthony,” Loki replied and gave the inventor a kiss. “Have you learned anything about the cause of the explosion?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Tony sighed. “And before I talk about it, I need a drink. Want one too? And you, Pepper?”

“Why are you so obsessed about offering people alcohol?” Loki frowned. “But yes, some scotch, please.”

“If you think I'm gonna need it, then yes, I'll have one too,” said Pepper.

“Three glasses of scotch on their way.”

“Is it _that_ bad?” Pepper frowned.

“Unfortunately, yes, it is.”

“You are scaring me, Anthony.”

“Trust me, I'm scared more than you are.”

“Tony! Either tell us or stop this-”

“It was a sabotage,” Tony said and handed her a glass. Then he sat down next to Loki, still holding two glasses in his right hand.

“A what?!” Pepper gaped.

“The evidence is pretty clear,” Tony sighed when Loki took one of the remaining glasses. “Someone was fiddling with it. The explosion wasn't my fault. Well, it was, a little bit, but not completely. The problem was a trap, it was all set to trigger an explosion when someone tries to fix it. Yes, if I wasn't so pissed off, I could have averted it, I could have caught it sooner, when there was still something more to do about it than get everyone out in time. But I didn't _trigger_ it, that's the important part.”

“But who could have fiddled with it?” asked Pepper.

“Well, either one of the employees, but I really hope that's not the case, or... someone else. And that would be even worse, because I have no idea how could anyone from the outside get near the arc reactor. That's just impossible. Right now, Jarvis is checking all the safety records to see if there was something, _anything_ weird, I mean like... intrudery weird, I don't know. The problem is, someone, and I don't have a fucking idea who, decided that we didn't need security cameras in the arc reactor control room, which is, seriously, just what the fuck? Everything we have are the recordings from the main door of the reactor building. Yeah, I know, but hey, whoever the intruder was, they must have gone through the door anyway, because how else, right?”

“In-thru-the window?” Loki suggested.

“Oh, Princess, I love you so much,” Tony murmured and leaned in for another kiss. “The windows can't be opened. Well, they _couldn't_ be opened when they were still there. Right now... You know.”

“What does it change for me?” asked Pepper. “Am I supposed to start telling the press that it was a sabotage, or do we keep it a secret?”

“No, we stick with our story,” Tony shook his head. “It was entirely my fault, I wanted to test an upgrade which worked fine in simulations and in lab, but everything went to hell when I tried to apply it to the actual arc reactor.”

“I don't understand, Anthony. Why take all the blame on yourself?”

“Why? Because, Princess, it's the best thing I can do. Hi, I'm Tony Stark, people expect me to blow shit up. It won't surprise anyone. And, more importantly, it doesn't make the arc reactor seem dangerous. While if I say it was a sabotage, people will just think it's easy to make the reactor blow up, and if _Tony Stark_ wasn't able to stop it...”

“I see,” Loki nodded. “Are you going to go there again tomorrow?”

“Of course. I need to find out what exactly happened. Why?”

“Nothing, just... It is a little boring to be here all alone for hours.”

“Wanna go with me?” Tony smiled. “We can pretend you're some kind of a specialist.”

“I am.”

“I mean... sciency specialist, not... magicky specialist.”

“And you are supposed to be a genius, right?”

“Kind of,” Tony murmured and rested his head on Loki's shoulder. “Okay. You're coming with me tomorrow.”

“I would make a certain joke, but there's a lady in the room.”

“The lady heard that joke several times. It's one of Tony's favorites.”

“Oh, in that case... Love, I hope I will be coming with you much sooner than tomorrow.”

“We'll see about that, Princess. I'm fucking exhausted today...”

 

Despite being so tired, Tony somehow ended up on the terrace at about half past one. Loki was fast asleep, or at least it seemed that he was, but Tony had just stared into the darkness for hours, listening to Loki's deep breathing and occasional little snores. He couldn't stay in bed. He knew he would go crazy.

He'd been on the terrace only for a few minutes, enjoying the cold night air, when he heard the glass door open and then close again. He turned around and blinked when he realized that it wasn't Loki standing there.

“Pepper?”

“Trouble sleeping?” she asked.

He nodded.

“I guess it's been a little bit too much for my brain. I don't... I don't think about anything in particular, but my head's still so full, so crammed...”

“You should have asked your darling to fuck you into oblivion.”

“You know, you don't have to pretend that you approve of it, Pepper,” Tony sighed. “I know that you don't, you've made that pretty clear. I'm glad that you're trying to be nice to him, but you're talking to me know. Drop the act, honey.”

“I'm not pretending anything, Tony. I admit that I have... mixed feelings about him,” she shrugged. “But I can see that he loves you. God, I saw his face when he thought were in that collapsed building. He looked so lost and scared. And then every time he talks about you, his eyes just shine and he's always smiling... He's so obviously in love with you. And you? Tony, I don't think I have ever seen you this happy.”

“I shouldn't say this to _you_ , but I don't think I have ever felt this happy,” he smiled. “But hell, I resisted for so long. And why? I mean, when he came back to Earth to stay with us, I was already kinda intrigued. But then everyone just seemed to trust him instantly, and I thought someone needs to be careful, and he's still Loki, you know what he's done, you reminded me a few times yourself. He's an asshole, yeah, when he wants to be. But he's also hot and witty and bloody clever, and when I found out what had happened to him in the void, I just... I couldn't hate him. And then we started to talk and spend time together, and then he fell in love with me, and I... I never stood a chance, really.”

“I know. You two seem to just belong together.”

“You think so?”

“Yes,” Pepper nodded. “And that is exactly why I am trying so hard to be nice and understanding.”

“Pepper, you are a star.”

“Yeah, I'm a star. But he's your one and only Princess.”

“Space Princess,” Tony smiled.

“What?”

“Nothing. I... I think I'll just go back to bed. I need to at least try to get some sleep. Thanks for the chat, Pepper.”

“You're welcome, Tony.”

 

Tony got into the bed again, carefully. He laid as close to the god as possible without waking him up. He just wanted to feel Loki's skin against his, his breath... The next thing he knew, Loki wrapped his arm around him and buried his face in the inventor's hair, muttering something about evil bananas from his sleep.

“Yeah, Princess,” Tony whispered and closed his eyes. “Love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, darlings! As always, I want to thank all of you for your lovely comments, they really keep me going on with this story. :) But just so you know, my school is starting again in a few days, and even though I'm gonna have just a few lessons a week, it's possible that the updates might take a bit longer now, as I won't always have the time to write. I will try to update as often as possible, because I really need to get this story out of my head, but I can't promise you anything. :)


	46. Chapter 46

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony's trying to find out who was behind the sabotage. Let's just say it was a good idea to bring Loki along...

“Anthony, I really think you shouldn't put so much weight on Pepper's shoulders.”

“What the... Whose side are you on, Princess?”

“I'm sorry, there are sides now?” Loki blinked.

“I'm gonna have a migraine,” Pepper muttered behind them. “No, my head is gonna explode, that's what's gonna happen.”

“See? I'm telling you,” said Loki. “Pepper, if you really have a headache, do tell me, I will cure it in a second.”

“Oh, that would be lovely, Loki. As soon as we get into my office-”

“We're not going to your office, Pep. I want to see the reactor. Or what's left of it.”

“You weren't there yesterday?” Loki frowned.

“Nope. They thought it was _unsafe_.”

“It _is_ unsafe, for goodness-”

“Calm down, Pepper. I'm gonna wear my suit, don't worry. If the rest of the building collapses on top of my head, I'm gonna get out in one piece.”

“You won't stay like that for long.”

“Hush, Princess. Really, are you two teaming up against me now?”

“If it's what it takes...”

“Okay. And here I wanted to bring my _expert_ with me.”

“You mean your expert on _you_?” Pepper growled. “Really, was it necessary to put it like that in front of the journalist? _Oh, it's Loki, my expert. Expert on what? On me, obviously_. Do you even realize that it makes him sound like a prostitute or your boyfriend?”

“Loki _is_ my boyfriend,” Tony shrugged.

“I need a drink. You're gonna turn me into an alcoholic, Stark.”

“It's Stark now? Where do you get _that_ from? Tasha?”

“Just... You know what?” Pepper sighed. “Go to the reactor. Yeah, just go. But ask someone else to organize your funeral, because I won't.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“And take Loki with you!”

“I was planning on that,” Tony grinned. “Princess?”

The god smiled.

“Oh, chaos is even more irresistible to me than you are.”

“Yeah, thanks a lot. I've changed my mind, Pepper, you can take him with you. Pepper? _Pepper_?!”

But they could only hear the fast clicking of her stilettos quickly fade away.

 

The poor worker in front of the partly collapsed arc reactor building eyed Loki suspiciously.

“Mr. Stark? I'm sorry, but... your companion...”

“What? Oh,” Tony nodded when he realized that Loki was still wearing only his usual T-shirt and jeans and nothing else. “Sorry, Princess, work safety and all... You'll need to wear a helmet.”

A green light shimmered around Loki's form, and suddenly the god was standing there wearing his horned helmet and full armor.

“I can't possibly wear just the helmet, can I?” he shrugged when Tony rolled his eyes.

“Oh, I can definitely imagine you wearing _just_ the helmet,” the billionaire grinned and turned his head to the very scared worker. “Don't worry about it, that's just Thor's brother. You know Thor, don't you? Alien, swinging a big hammer... This one doesn't have a hammer, but he's got magic.”

“Hi,” said Loki. “I promise that nothing is going to happen to me inside the building.”

“O...kay?” gulped the worker.

“Come on, Princess,” said Tony as he called his armor to his body. “We're going in.”

 

It was a depressing sight, though it seemed the explosion hadn't been as big as it had seemed to be at first. Still big enough to tear down a part of the building, of course, but not big enough to completely destroy everything in its path. The floor was full of shards of glass and deformed pieces of metal, but the walls seemed mostly intact. Everything was covered with dust and ash.

“Well, it looks worse than my study after that one accident, I'll give you that,” Loki smirked.

“Thanks, babe.”

“What exactly are you hoping to find, by the way? Because I cannot imagine any traces the intruder might have left surviving _this_ , especially when you don't even know when was he here.”

“About two days before the big boom,” said Tony. “That's when the arc reactor started to act all weird, according to the data. As for what I'm hoping to find, I don't know until I do find it. I'm counting on sheer dumb luck.”

“What a wonderful strategy.”

“Yeah, but it's so very me.”

“We can definitely agree on that, my love. So where do you want to start searching?”

“I don't know. I'd say the control room. Then, if there's nothing there, we can try to get to the reactor itself. But that will require some digging.”

“All right. Lead the-”

“Here.”

Loki looked where Tony was pointing, right at the empty door frame on their right.

“Okay. That was quick,” Loki nodded.

The billionaire was carefully heading into the room behind the former door.

“Just watch out, okay? If something goes wrong, you teleport straight out, you get it?”

“Of course,” said Loki. “I will have to get _you_ out.”

“I don't need you to... Okay, it would be better than having to wait until they dig me out of the rubble, I guess. But... Loki, what's wrong?”

The god closed his eyes and his brow furrowed. He extended his arms and wiggled his fingers, taking two steps forward.

“Impossible,” he whispered.

“What is?” asked Tony. “Princess, you're scaring me.”

“The thing about magical spells, love... is that they leave traces. After they are cast, they linger for a while. Some of them for a few hours. Some for days. Some for centuries. You have to know the spell to recognize it, of course, and after some time, only a skilled sorcerer can do it...”

“Are you telling me that someone used magic here?”

“Yes. It has almost faded away now, but this school of magic is my area of expertise, I can feel it so clearly...”

“Are you telling me that someone _teleported_ here? That's your area of expertise, isn't it?”

“Yes. Someone teleported here,” Loki nodded. “It was certainly not anyone who was properly taught in Asgard, this was an amateur, obviously. I mean in this school of magic.”

“So we're looking for someone who managed to teleport here, even though they can't do it right, and is not from Asgard, meaning... Doom.”

“Almost certainly. Because every sorcerer's style is a little different, it's almost like a signature, if you know where to look. I'm pretty sure this is Doom's signature, even though I don't know it very well.”

“Fabulous,” Tony growled. “I'm gonna hunt him down, I swear. This shit just got personal.”

“He still uses the Yggdrasil,” Loki mumbled. “And still all wrong. I need to talk to Thor. He needs to go to Asgard, talk to Odin. This has to be stopped, immediately. The mortal doesn't know what he's doing, he might cause serious damage!”

“Okay, Princess, I get it. Just calm down. He blew up _my_ favorite arc reactor, okay?”

“He might blow up _my_ favorite planet!”

“What? We're your favorite planet? Baby, that's so cute.”

“Do you want to continue here, or was this your dumb luck? Because I really need to call Thor as soon as possible.”

“I guess this was my dumb luck,” Tony shrugged. “I doubt we'll find anything else. This place is a mess. Besides, I wanted to know _who_ and _how_ , and I-”

“I'll wait for you outside.”

With that, Loki vanished.

 

Tony looked over his shoulder, saw that Loki was still pacing from one end of the room to the other and back, and looked back at Pepper.

“How long it's been?”

“About fifteen minutes,” she answered.

“Man, Thor is dumb today,” Tony sighed.

“I must admit that I don't understand, either. I mean, I do understand why it's not good to let Doom and his bots wander through the universe, but is it really so dangerous?”

“From what I understand, it's as if a very clever teenager built a nuclear bomb on his backyard using the instructions he'd found online.”

“Damn.”

“Exactly,” Tony nodded.

“Holy shit, Thor, I'm telling you... _What_?!” Loki yelled to the phone. When Tony spun around, Loki was staring at the television on the wall, which immediately flickered to life.

“Jarvis?” asked Tony.

“Another attack of the Doombots, sir. New York again. But this time, there is also a giant wolf. Nobody knows how did it get to the city.”

“A wolf?” Tony blinked. At the same moment, the television showed a giant beast with long, sharp teeth. “Right. A wolf. And a very angry one at that.”

Loki's phone fell from his fingers.

“No,” the god whispered. “No, please, no...”

The realization hit just a second before Loki turned around and Tony could see the god's scared eyes.

“Oh, shit. A _wolf_ ,” Tony gulped. “Princess, calm down, it's gonna be-”

But Loki vanished for the second time that day.

“-fine,” Tony finished. “ _Fuck_! Please, don't appear in New York, please, don't appear in New York...”

“Tony, what's going on?” Pepper asked.

“The wolf,” Tony mumbled. “It's Fenrir.”

“And that means-”

“I need to go. Right now,” said Tony and jumped to his feet. “I'll call you, I swear.”

“Tony-”

“Sorry for leaving you here all alone, Pepper. But if he teleported straight to New York, things are gonna get really bad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *innocent whistling* Hello, darlings. How are you? Okay, that was mean. This chapter took a little longer to write, and I'm really sorry for that. I'm also sorry for how it ended, but... I promise I will try to update as soon as possible. Because I really need to resolve the cliffhanger before I go mad. :D  
> As always, thank you so much for your comments, I love you all! :)


	47. Chapter 47

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when Doom sets Fenrir loose on New York? Well, one thing is certain - Loki is not going to be happy...

Loki's head was spinning when he got to New York, just about two minutes after teleporting from Malibu. He just hoped that it was the right place. He tried his best to reach out to Fenrir's mind, to find it, to get as close as possible.

It worked, he realized when he heard deep growling right in front of him, before he even opened his eyes.

“Fenrir,” he said.

It was a shock for him when he suddenly found himself being pushed over, his back hitting the ground so hard it nearly knocked his breath out of him. His eyes snapped open just as he felt two large paws step on his shoulders.

So the first thing he saw was a giant mouth with a set of very long and sharp teeth.

“Fenrir,” he whispered.

But the wolf only growled, angry, not recognizing him at all.

“Fenrir, it's... It's me!” Loki croaked. “It's me, it's your father!”

The only response was an even deeper growl.

Loki's fingers were glowing green as he furiously tried to calm the wolf down with his magic, to connect his mind with the wolf's.

“Come on, Fenrir, come on,” he murmured, the weight of the wolf's body nearly cracking his collarbones. “Fenrir, it's _me_!”

Suddenly, the growling stopped and was replaced at first by stunned silence, then a confused yelp. The pressure on Loki's chest disappeared.

“Oh, thank Norns,” Loki sighed. “Fenrir...”

The wolf whimpered softly and touched Loki's forehead with his large muzzle.

Loki wrapped his arms around Fenrir's neck and buried his face into the soft fur. His whole body was shaking badly.

Only a few seconds later, Thor landed nearby. Loki knew it was his brother, he felt the electricity in the air. He didn't need to hear that deep voice.

“Loki?!”

“It's fine. Everything is fine,” he said. “Fenrir is fine, I'm fine.”

“How did you get back?” Thor asked.

Loki felt Fenrir move backwards, out of his embrace, and the growling came back, though softer.

“Hush,” Loki said. “It's Thor. You know him.”

The wolf sniffed, tilting his head.

“Thor,” Loki repeated. “Calm down, darling. He's not gonna hurt you. Thor, I didn't teleport, if you're worried about that. Well, I _did_ , but with two shorter jumps instead of one using Yggdrasil. I hope I won't have to do it again in the near future, it's definitely not a way to travel, especially when you want to get somewhere as fast as possible. Norns, my head...”

Thor nodded, touching the comm in his right ear.

“Loki managed to calm Fenrir down. … No, no he- … _Will you stop yelling at me, Stark_?!”

Loki rolled his eyes (which made his head spin even more, of course) and called his own comm, stored magically after the first time he had went on a mission with the rest of the team.

“I am perfectly fine, Anthony, and I didn't break Odin's rules, I swear. Hello, love, by the way. Are you on your way?”

“Yup, Princess, flying as fast as I can,” said Tony's voice. “Guys, how's the situation with the bots?”

“There aren't many. I guess Doom was kind of hoping the wolf would do most of the work,” Steve replied. “Hello, Loki, by the way. Thank you for getting your kid under control.”

“You're welcome, Captain. I have a feeling Thor told you, didn't he? Oh, well. Do you need my help?”

“Seriously, Princess? You're only our doctor, you don't _fight_ with us. You even told me once, you're not an Avenger!”

“Well, I am now,” Loki smirked. One unfortunate Doombot materialized out of thin air next to Thor and within a second, it exploded in a flash of green light. “Just as you said earlier today. This shit just got personal. _Very_ personal.”

“Oh, feel free to avenge your son,” said Natasha. “By the way, we might really use that device which stops them from teleporting!”

“Yes, of course. Sorry,” Loki nodded. “Just find me a dead one, I'll sort it out. Thor, could you?”

“I will do what I can,” said the blonde and flew away.

“And we will get to the rest of the team, all right, Fenrir?” said Loki and turned his head to the wolf. “Will you help me, puppy?”

“Excuse me?!” yelled Clint. “Did you just call that giant wolf _puppy_?! Stark, I think my wristband is malfunctioning again...”

 

When Tony arrived, the battle was already won, mostly thanks to Loki and Fenrir. Especially the wolf's teeth had destroyed more Doombots than all the Avengers combined. Everything was over in a few minutes, but no one seemed to really mind.

To tell the truth, when Tony arrived, not only was the battle won, but the team was already back at the tower.

When Tony walked into the common living room, which was the closest room to his landing pad, he found only Loki and Fenrir there. Loki was sitting on the floor with the wolf lying beside him, his large head in Loki's lap.

“Oh. Anthony,” said Loki without even looking up from gently stroking Fenrir's fur. “This is Fenrir. Fenrir, this is Anthony.”

Fenrir immediately got up and focused his gaze on Tony. The genius froze.

“Loki...”

“Don't be nervous,” the god smiled. “Fenrir would never hurt you.”

When he was standing up, Fenrir's head was level with Tony's chest.

“Are you sure? He looks like he might.”

The wolf sniffed and looked straight into Tony's eyes. The inventor had known before that this was no common animal, of course, but suddenly, he became pretty sure that Fenrir was probably just as intelligent as he was.

“Say hi,” Loki chuckled.

“Uhm, hi,” said Tony. “How is my favorite killing machine?”

“Don't talk about my puppy like that! He did what was necessary, and only because I asked him.”

“I was just kidding, Princess. He knows that. Probably. Don't you, Shredder?”

Fenrir turned his head to look at Loki.

“Yes,” the god nodded. “He is annoying, but I love him, so be nice, please.”

Feral eyes focused at Tony again, as if considering the possibilities. Tony only hoped that eating him wasn't one of them.

Then the wolf bent down his head and nudged Tony's right hand.

“What? You want me to... pet you?” Tony asked.

If Fenrir could roll his eyes, he would probably do it.

Tony cautiously touched the wolf's head with his palm, and smiled when he was rewarded with a soft, satisfied growl.

When he looked up, Loki was grinning.

 

Only about twenty minutes later, the team gathered back in the common living room, almost everyone giving Fenrir an occasional cautious gaze. Except for Clint, who, upon arriving upstairs, just walked straight to the very confused wolf (who was, once again, lying on the floor, close to Loki) and rubbed his belly.

Thor was the last one to appear upstairs, and he immediately headed for the door leading to the terrace.

“I need to go to Asgard,” he announced.

Loki's head shot up and Fenrir yelped.

“Why?” the sorcerer asked.

“You wanted me to, didn't you?” Thor frowned. “We let this go too far. I don't know how did that... Doom get to Fenrir, he was hidden in a place you cannot access without using the Yggdrasil. I refuse to wait until he learns how to access other _realms_.”

“You mean Fenrir was hidden here? On _Midgard_?” Loki gasped, his fingers burying themselves deeper into the wolf's fur. “What were you doing here, puppy?”

“Father sent him to Midgard because he was afraid someone might find him in his previous hiding place. Midgard is... unimportant. He didn't think anyone would search for him here.”

“And someone found him by accident,” Loki nodded. “Oh, my poor dangerous puppy...”

“Loki, I don't want to be mean, but if this is a puppy, the Hulk is probably a leprechaun,” Bruce smirked.

“Don't listen to them, Shredder,” Tony muttered and scratched Fenrir behind the ears. “If Loki says you're a puppy, you're a puppy. Besides, Loki's right. He's a complete darling when he's not pissed off. Like father, like son, eh?”

“I don't want to know what they did to scare and anger him like that. But don't worry, Fenrir, I won't let anyone ever hurt you again. You'll stay here, with me. Would you like that?”

“It's still my tower, Princess,” Tony commented. “But yeah, he can stay, of course.”

“I think father will want to hide him somewhere else, Loki,” Thor said.

“So another stupid sorcerer can accidentally find him?” Loki growled. “Over my dead body, Thor.”

“You will need to discuss that with father. Excuse me, friends, but I have to go. Farewell.”

“Odin!” Loki shouted before Thor managed to get out of the door. “It's _Odin_ for me, not _father_!”

The blonde didn't react, but Fenrir made a noise which could probably be described as a tired sigh.

 

“Father, please.”

“I said no, Thor.”

“But Loki's right, it is getting out of hand. That sorcerer might be dangerous, you know it. He must be stopped, and Loki is the only one who can do it.”

“I know as much about Yggdrasil as Loki does.”

“No, you don't, you just wish you did. And you promised, father. You _promised_. What more do you want him to do? Lift Mjölnir?!”

“Don't question my decisions, Thor. Just do what you were told to do.”

“You know what, father? I am starting to think that Loki was right in his jealous madness. You will never see him as my equal. And this... You are doing it only because of mother. If it weren't for her begging you, you would have killed him a long time ago.”

“You really think so?”

“I...” The young god hesitated, for the first time since the argument started. “I don't want to lie to my brother anymore.”

“Do what you need to do.”

“Yes. I think I will.”

Thor turned away and took the first several steps towards the large door of the throne room, but he stopped when he heard his father's voice again.

“But Thor, remember. I told you _what_ to do about Fenrir, not _when_ to do it.”

“I understand,” said Thor with a smile. “Thank you, father.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, darlings! I hope the wait for this chapter wasn't too long. I would have written it sooner, but my friend has been blackmailing me into writing other stories for the past few days, so... sorry. But I just couldn't tell her no when she threatened to talk about probably the only pairing I cannot stand if I don't write, could I? :D The next chapter is coming as soon as possible, I promise! And as always, thank you very much for all your comments. :)


	48. Chapter 48

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor comes back to the tower with news from Asgard. How much exactly is Loki going to hate Odin's new plan for keeping Fenrir hidden?

It seemed that the team was getting used to having Fenrir around. Thor noticed it immediately after his arrival back to the tower. The cautious glares were mostly gone and everyone seemed sort of relaxed. Especially Clint, who was casually throwing a ball into the air again and again, obviously fully aware of the wolf's gaze following the toy.

“Oh, I wonder, do wolves like to play like dogs?” he was saying when Thor stepped into the room. “Or are they too proud to-”

“Thor,” said Loki the moment he'd noticed his brother, straightening up immediately. Probably only Tony noticed the god's back tensing. “What did he say?”

“Relax, brother. Everything is going to be all right,” Thor sighed.

“Yeah, sorry, Thor, I have a little problem believing that,” Tony smirked and placed his hand on Loki's thigh. “But yeah, Princess, just relax. Fenrir's getting nervous.”

“He wants to send him somewhere else, doesn't he? He wants to take him away from me.”

“You didn't really think father will let you keep Fenrir _here_ , Loki.”

“Why not? You can hardly find a safer place. Just say it, he wants to keep him away from _me_.”

“He does not, Loki.”

“So where does he want to imprison my puppy this time? Svartalfheim? Such a wonderful place, hardly anything to destroy, because everything _is_ already destroyed. Oh, wait how about Jotunheim? I bet he'd feel wonderful there, after all, his parents are... a Jotun and a god.”

“What is a Jotun, again?” asked Steve.

“A monster,” Loki muttered. “Frost giants are terrible creatures, wild, bloodthirsty, stupid-”

“Stop it,” Tony growled. “It's all bullshit and you know it.”

Loki ignored him and turned his head back to Thor.

“So, does he want to send my son to those monsters, dearest brother?”

“No, father does not,” said Thor. “He wants to hide both Fenrir and Jörmungandr in the same realm.”

“Jörmungandr?” Loki gasped. “Where is he?!”

“Here. On Midgard, too.”

“ _What_?!” Loki yelled, making Fenrir yelp.

“Are you bloody kidding me?” said Tony. “Thor, you _knew_?!”

“Where is he? When does Odin want to take them away?” asked Loki, jumping to his feet. “I need to see him, I need to see my other son, Thor, _please_!”

“Hey, hey, hey!” said Clint. “Enough with the drama, both of you. Loki, shut up. Thor, answers. Natasha, questions.”

“First of all, what's going on?” asked Natasha. “Fenrir is Loki's son, Thor told us that much. Who exactly is Jörmungandr?”

“Fenrir's twin,” Loki murmured. “A giant snake, if you need details.”

“Man, your genes must be a mess,” Clint smirked.

“Where is Jörmungandr? On Earth, yes, but where exactly?”

“I can take Loki there. And Fenrir, if he wants to go to see his brother.”

Fenrir immediately started to wiggle his tail.

“Where does Odin want to hide them?” asked Natasha.

“That is a secret,” Thor smiled. “But it is not a bad place, and they will be safe and protected, both of them. By one of the most powerful beings in all the realms.”

“Oh, does Odin want to lock them up in the dungeons of Asgard?” Loki hissed.

“Loki, shut up,” Natasha ordered. “When does he want to take them away?”

“I am the one to take them,” Thor sighed.

“Over my _dead_ -”

“But it it up to me to decide when. I can give you a few days, brother.”

“A few _days_? I won't see them for the rest of eternity, and you can give me a few _days_ , you oaf?!”

“You will be able to see them often enough. They can come to visit you, with their new guardian. She will be able to take them wherever you wish.”

“He can't possibly be giving them to Amora, can he?” Loki frowned.

“No. Of course not,” Thor smiled.

“Good. She is hardly one of the most... Oh. _Oh_.”

Fenrir barked excitedly.

“Oh what?” Tony blinked.

“He...” Loki whispered. “He wants to send them to Helheim. So _Hela_ can protect them. Right?”

“Who the hell is Hela?” Steve whined.

“My daughter. Fenrir and Jörmy's sister.”

“And... I don't want to be mean or anything, but she's... what? A giant eagle? Dragon? Cat?” asked Clint.

“Oh, she's just half a human and half a corpse,” Tony smirked. “Right, Princess?”

“Right,” Loki smiled.

“Just a really ordinary family, eh?” said Bruce. “Hey, tell your son not to look at me like that, he would not like the consequences of biting me.”

Loki sat back down on the floor, slowly, and allowed Fenrir to place his head in his lap again.

“So they will be sent to Helheim,” he mumbled, looking at Thor. “But Hela will take them to visit me whenever I'll want. And she will protect them, so no one can hurt them. And you may take them right now or you may take them in a week or so.”

“Yes,” Thor nodded. “I hope that it makes you at least a tiny bit happy.”

“It makes the situation... bearable.”

Tony shuffled closer to Loki and placed his arm around the god's waist.

“It's gonna be fine,” the inventor whispered. “It's better than what you've had so far, isn't it?”

“Yes. It is,” Loki nodded.

“And you've got _me_ , and I'm gonna make you feel even better,” Tony grinned.

“I know. I... By the way, shouldn't you call Pepper, love? Tell her that everything is all right.”

“Oh, shit!” Tony gulped. “Bloody hell, she's gonna kill me!”

Fenrir growled.

“Yes. Good puppy,” said Loki and scratched him behind the ears. “Protect my Anthony, exactly...”

 

It wasn't a surprise for Tony when he found Fenrir in front of his bed (well, their bed) when he left the bathroom in the evening. Loki was kneeling beside the wolf, nose buried into his fur.

“Are you gonna sleep on the floor tonight?” the inventor asked.

“No. Yes. I'm not sure,” Loki sighed. “I want to sleep next to you, and I want to sleep next to him. I... Will you mind if I leave you alone, puppy?”

Fenrir nudged Loki's shoulder with his nose.

“Yes. I love you too, darling.”

“So... Why exactly don't you both climb into the bed? It's big enough for all of us, and I doubt Fenrir will steal my blanket.”

“I... understand that it's not very popular to let dogs sleep in beds on Midgard.”

“I don't mind it, and Fenrir is not a dog, of course, and kids are allowed into their parents' beds,” said Tony, lying down. “Hey, Shredder, come here.”

Only a few seconds later, half of the bed was occupied by the giant wolf, and, hardly a heartbeat later, half of what remained was occupied by Tony's favorite god.

“Anthony, are you-”

“Hush. Sleep, Princess. Good night.”

Loki turned his head and pressed his lips to Tony's, kissing him softly.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Tony just winked and wrapped his arm around Loki.

Fenrir was the first to fall asleep, and Loki the next. Tony was awake for a little longer, listening to their breathing. That was how he discovered that the light snoring was probably hereditary.

For some reason, it made him really happy.

 

“Anthony.”

“Mhmf... hmpf,” Tony commented.

“Anthony, wake up.”

“Mhm... Is there an alien invasion again?”

“I don't know about any.”

“Oh, and you would know.”

“Probably,” Loki grinned.

“Has your son chewed up something ridiculously expensive? If he did, just tell Jarvis to order a new whatever it is and let me sleep.”

“I sent Fenrir to the gym,” Loki whispered into Tony's ear and his hand traveled down the inventor's back. “Clint wanted to play fetch with him.”

“So you're basically telling me that you woke me up to tell me that your son is not here and you... Oh, Princess.”

“And I would like to show you how I appreciate that you accepted him... and that you were so nice to him... And that you are nice to _me_ and you love me...” Loki murmured and squeezed Tony's butt cheek.

“So in return, you are going to be nice to me, baby?”

“Yes. Very nice. Very, _very_ nice.”

“Go on, Princess...”

“But I mean it, Anthony. Thank you for everything. Thank you for being here for me. Except for Thor and mother, you are the first person who ever really loved me.”

Tony turned around with a sigh, looking straight into Loki's green eyes.

“Do you realize how fucked up you are if you feel like you should _thank_ me for that? I'm all for you showing appreciation by fucking me until I scream myself hoarse, but I'm definitely not okay with you verbally _thanking_ me, because seriously, this... That's just what people _do_ when they love someone, and you don't really take credit for _loving_ someone. Or have I been getting it wrong for the past few years?”

“No, you haven't. I'm sorry, love.”

“And don't... apologize, okay?” Tony muttered. “You promised you're gonna be nice to me. So be nice to me, Princess. Fuck me. Make love to me, call it whatever you want, just _do it_.”

“As you wish, my dearest Anthony...” Loki whispered and, without warning, attacked Tony's neck with his lips.

“Oh, yes,” Tony gasped. “Right there, Princess, right...”

“But before I truly start, don't you need to-”

“Go pee? Yeah. Good idea. Wait here. I'll be right back.”

“Sometimes, I don't really know how I managed to fall in love with you,” Loki smirked when Tony wormed out of his embrace and got out of the bed.

“Yeah, it's a mystery, isn't it?”

“Idiot. Just go. You've got one minute.”

“One minute? And then what?”

“Fifty-seven seconds. Tick tock, Anthony.”

“I'm going, I'm going!”

“See? Much better...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, darlings! I'm so sorry this chapter took me so long to write. You know how it is, real life got in the way, I wasn't in the mood one evening, I was tired the next one... Honesty, I spent about four evenings writing this, very, very slowly. I haven't even realized it's been almost a week since the last chapter until now. I promise I will try to write the next one sooner. :) And of course, as always, thank you very much for all your lovely comments!


	49. Chapter 49

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cap gets a little pissed off. Tony just doesn't care. He and Loki have better plans for the day. Warning: Contains Loki's kids. And lots of feels.

It took them very, very long to get to the common living room that morning. To tell the truth, when they finally _did_ get there, it was nearly time for lunch. And they arrived only to find a very angry Captain America pacing from one end of the room to the other, swearing like a sailor, a clearly amused Hawkeye lying on the couch and a shyly looking Fenrir sitting on the floor in front of the piece of furniture.

“Oh. You. Loki,” Steve growled when he noticed the presence of the god. “Congratulations. Your son has earned you the privilege of going shopping. This afternoon. With Barton. No, you _cannot_ take the wolf with you, Barton's already asked that question!”

“What the hell?” Tony blinked. “Why shopping? Have we run out out of food? Jarvis, I'm starving, have we run out of _food_?!”

“Calm down, Tony. Cap's rules, remember?” Clint smirked. “Naughty boys don't order groceries through Jarvis, naughty boys go shopping themselves. And I've been a very naughty boy...”

“But there's no need to send you to the supermarket, we can tell Tasha to punish you.”

“That's what I said!”

“And I will gladly punish Loki. How about that, Princess?”

But Loki was ignoring him. He was staring right into Fenrir's too clever eyes.

“What have you done, puppy?” he asked, quietly.

When he heard the tone of Loki's voice, the wolf tried to hide his face with his paws.

“It's not such a big deal. And it was my fault,” Clint sighed and sat up.

“Not a big deal? He destroyed half of my equipment!”

“Yeah, but only because I wasn't paying enough attention and his ball somehow ended up right in the middle of it. And he'd already been so excited, so...”

“ _Fenrir_ ,” said Loki, tapping his foot. “Tell me Clint is not serious! We have a deal, don't we? This is not how you should behave if you want to stay here!”

The wolf only whimpered.

“Oh, come on, Loki, you're scaring him,” Tony mumbled and knelt on the floor in front of Fenrir, scratching him behind the ears. “Don't worry, you big puppy, dad's not really mad at you, okay? And if he is, I'll make him stop, I promise.”

“Stark, stop spoiling my child.”

“And it's Stark now. Okay, maybe he's mad at both of us. And poor Clint, too, probably.”

“Anthony...” Loki sighed.

“Hush. I'm bonding with your son. Go make another attempt on world domination. Oh, and Jarvis, whatever we need, just order it. No one's going shopping. I've got an exception, remember?”

“But it only applies to you,” said Steve.

“Nope, I've extended it to my boyfriend, too. And you can't send Clint alone, that would be unfair, because it's not _only_ his fault.”

“Excuse me, but who's the leader of this team?” Steve frowned. “I'm the one who decides who-”

“Excuse me, who _pays_ for this team's needs?” Tony smirked. “Speaking of which, whatever those two destroyed, make a list, find those items or better ones, no matter what it costs, and when you're done, Jarvis will order it all, right, buddy?”

“Of course, sir,” said Jarvis.

“Good. See? All sorted out. We'll leave Clint's punishment to Tasha, and Fenrir has already learned his lesson. Haven't you, Shredder?”

The wolf awkwardly nodded.

“You just have to win this argument, don't you?” Steve sighed. “All right. I'll make a list.”

“Fantastic. Everyone's happy. That's the way I like it. High paw?”

Fenrir stared at him, confused.

Not as confused as Tony was when Loki's arms suddenly wrapped themselves around him from behind.

“You, Anthony Stark,” the god mumbled to his ear, “you are the most wonderful man I have ever met.”

“Careful, or my ego will become so big I won't fit in the doorframe,” Tony laughed. “But I love you too. And you should probably tell your son about your plans for today. I mean, our plans.”

“But I haven't even asked Thor yet,” Loki shook his head.

“Oh, come on, as if he'd ever tell you no,” said Clint, rolling his eyes. “And I have a feeling I know what's your plan gonna be.”

“All right. Fenrir, darling,” said Loki. “Would you like to go and see your brother?”

The wolf jumped to his feet, nearly knocking Tony over, and barked loudly.

“I'll take that as a yes,” Tony grinned. “Okay, Princess, let's ask _your_ brother if he's gonna tell us where Jörmungandr is.”

 

Flying a jet with his boyfriend and his boyfriend's son (who was a giant wolf) to some distant beach in Norway to meet his boyfriend's other son (who was a giant snake). Tony wondered when exactly had his life turned so bloody _weird_. And, also, why exactly he personally didn't think it was _that_ weird, it was just that the rest of the world would probably think that it was.

He cursed his brain for thinking too much and in way too complicated sentences.

And then of course, his boyfriend was technically a god, and also an alien, and also a fucking frost giant, who was a bit short to actually be a _giant_ , but was gianty enough for Tony, so-

“We're here,” Loki whispered. “I can feel it. I can feel Jörmungandr's energy.”

“Thank goodness,” Tony sighed. “The inside of my brain was starting to get really weird.”

“It's always weird, Anthony. Do you think you can find a place to land?”

“Excuse me? I'm Tony Stark and I built this baby to land wherever I want it to!”

“I... I am sorry.”

“Damn, you're really nervous, Princess. Don't worry, we're gonna be down there in a minute. Well, maybe two, actually. Calm down.”

And the god wasn't the only one who desperately needed to calm down. Fenrir was about to start jumping up and down, barking excitedly.

“Calm down? Do you know how long have I been waiting? So many hours before we even took off-”

“Well, you wouldn't want to get here at one AM, would you? It would be pretty much useless. Now we're here at dawn and-”

“Yeah, we have a whole day, whatever. I don't care. Still waiting too long.”

From the corner of his eye Tony saw a faint green glow.

“What are you doing, Princess?”

“Calling my son with my magic,” Loki whispered, smiling. “He's near. Very near. As if he knew we were coming.”

“Well, it's your son. He probably did.”

Just as the jet touched the ground, the largest snake Tony had ever seen in his life casually slithered out of the sea, its wet scales shining in the rising sun.

Was it possible for a snake to look excited? Because this one surely did.

“Open the door,” Loki ordered. “Right _now_.”

“Hold on a sec,” said Tony, pressing the buttons. “There are some security... Right, there you go. Thank you for flying with Avengers Airlines, the temperature in pretty good, the local time is... Oh, whatever, you're not even here anymore, are you?”

But he still smiled when he saw Loki and Fenrir running across the beach the fastest they could to greet Jörmungandr.

 

Loki had made it clear before the trip even started that he wanted to spend the whole day with his kids, but Tony didn't think the god actually _meant_ it.

Then he found out they'd already been on the beach for five hours. _Oh, well_.

Of course, he had spent most of the time watching Loki play with the kids, or sitting on the sand with Loki and watching the kids play together. Because... Hell, what else could he do? Yeah, Fenrir was all cuddly and playful, but Jörmungandr was a lot more distanced. As if he wasn't sure what to think about that weird mortal who apparently had a relationship with their father. And even though Fenrir did try to lure Tony to play with them, well... The inventor couldn't help being just a tiny bit afraid of the giant reptile.

He wanted to try, wanted to try so bad, for Loki, but he didn't think he could make it.

_Damn, damn, damn_ ...

He started when Loki snapped his fingers right in front of his eyes.

“Huh?” the inventor blinked.

“I said I was starving, dear,” the god smiled. “Where's our picnic?”

“Sorry, I... I was kind of lost in thoughts,” Tony mumbled, standing up. “I'll get the food.”

“Need a hand?” Loki smiled.

“No, it's fine. I can manage... Okay, apparently I can't,” Tony smirked when Loki's hand slipped around his waist and the god started for the jet.

“I just want you to know that I love you,” said Loki, pulling Tony even closer. “And I understand that this is a little overwhelming to you. And if you want to hide in the jet for a while, I don't mind. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable.”

“What are you talking about?” Tony shrugged. “I'm fine. Just a bit tired. You haven't spent hours piloting.”

“Oh, you are such a terrible liar, Anthony...” Loki laughed, pressing his lips to Tony's hair as they walked. “You know, I am able to contact Hela whenever I want. I need to be near Fenrir and Jörmungandr to connect with their minds, but with my girl, the distance doesn't matter.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Tony frowned, alarmed.

“Because I am going to call her. And I am going to tell her to take them with her, today.”

Tony stopped dead in his tracks and gaped at Loki.

“You're gonna _what_?!”

“Just look at them,” Loki sighed, turning his head to Fenrir and Jörmungandr, who were currently just lying on the beach, obviously too tired to move, the snake's body curled around the wolf's. “They love each other. I cannot just take Fenrir and leave, even if I would come back soon. And I cannot take Jörmy with me, because what would I do, throw him into the swimming pool? And I cannot leave Fenrir here, what if Doom finds him? And what if he finds Jörmungandr and tries to use him as he did with Fenrir? And they both love their sister. They will be happy in Helheim, happy and safe.”

“But it will break your heart, letting them go so soon,” Tony whispered.

“So what?”

Tony leaned in to kiss the god lightly.

“You know what? Okay. Call her. But call her now, so _you_ can spend some time with her, too.”

“Seriously, Anthony? You almost cannot take two of my kids, _three_ of them-”

“Yeah, but... She can talk, can't she? That'll be a nice change...”

 

They haven't even finished unpacking their picnic, when there was suddenly a slight shift in the air. Even Tony felt it. Perhaps he was so used to Loki teleporting around him that he could now tell the signs, perhaps the change was just so big because Hela was apparently coming from another realm...

He just wasn't _that_ surprised when she suddenly appeared before them.

Loki wasn't surprised at all, of course. It was as if he knew where _exactly_ was she going to appear, because he hugged her just a second later.

“Hello, my sweet girl,” he whispered.

“Oh, father,” she laughed. “It's so nice to see you again.”

They had to let go soon, of course, forced to do so by excited yapping and hissing.

Tony stood there, waiting for the family members to greet each other. He had expected to be ignored, of course. _They_ were a family, _he_ was just... the weird guy who was fucking their dad.

Still, he grinned when Hela turned to face him. Wasn't she supposed to be partly a corpse? She looked just like a normal girl in her early twenties, with dark hair, green eyes and many more of Loki's facial features. _Oh, well. Magic, probably._

“And this would be the famous Tony Stark,” she said. “Hello.”

“Uhm, hi,” he replied. “If you want to threaten me, something like 'if you hurt my father I will make your aferlife a living hell', save your breath. I get it, and I won't hurt him if he doesn't ask for it.”

Hela nodded, turning her head to her father.

“I quite like him. You can keep him.”

And it seemed that this was the approval Jörmungandr needed to start warming up to him. Or so Tony hoped. It was, of course, entirely possible that the nudge to his shoulder was just testing if the meat on his body wasn't too tough to eat.

 

The rest of the day was nice. Overwhelming, yes, but nice. Tony could get used to having Loki's kids around all the time, no matter how weird they were.

Just as this thought occurred to him, he realized he wouldn't have a chance to get used to it, because they were about to leave. Any moment.

And then they did, after a series of last and very long hugs.

And when they were gone, Loki returned to the jet, seemingly perfectly calm. But Tony knew better.

So the inventor started the jet and took off, passing the reins to the autopilot as soon as he could. The moment he sat down beside Loki, the god fell apart.

By the time they got back home, Tony's T-shirt was all wet and Loki had sobbed himself to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I, uhm, guess this wasn't so nice, was it. And it took longer than I had expected, but the chapter just seemed to get longer and longer and longer, and I just wasn't able to split it somewhere in the middle, so... Here you go, one very long (well, long for what I usually write) and a little sad chapter. I have no idea how long the other one is going to take, because I should really do some things for my school (which I should have been doing instead of writing this chapter, but I just needed to get this out), so... Just give me a few days again. :D  
> Thank you everyone for your comments! :)


	50. Chapter 50

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki's still in a pretty bad mood, and Tony's determined to distract him. That's pretty much all this chapter is about.

He mumbled something completely unintelligible and rolled on his back, or at least tried to, because about halfway, his back met an obstacle. A soft, breathing obstacle.

Loki's eyes snapped open when the obstacle promptly kicked his calf.

“Hey. Try not to squash me, okay?” Tony's voice muttered.

“What...” Loki blinked. “How did I get to bed?”

“You fell asleep on our way home. I couldn't wake you up, so Thor had to carry you to my bedroom. Our bedroom, sorry.”

“What... What time is it?” Loki asked.

“Half past five in the morning, sir,” Jarvis replied.

“Oh, god...” Tony growled.

“How long have I slept, Anthony?”

“Dunno. Doesn't matter,” Tony yawned. “Go back to sleep.”

“I don't want to,” Loki murmured. He was finally starting to fully understand the events of the previous day. On their way back home, he only felt terrible sadness, but now, he felt... empty. Sad and empty. “Anthony...”

“J, lights on fifteen percent,” Tony sighed. “Is it about the kids, Princess?”

Loki nodded.

“I miss them so much,” he whispered. “I mean my boys. Hela too, of course, but I have always known where she was, I have been able to visit her. But boys... I've only just found them, and I had to give them up again. I haven't seen them for decades, and I get to spend a few hours with them and it's supposed to be enough. It's so _unfair_.”

“You didn't have to give them up, sweetie,” Tony murmured, wiping the tears from Loki's face with his thumb. “They're free to visit you. Come on, don't cry anymore. They wouldn't want you to cry. They're fine, happy... Hela said they're gonna have everything they want in her kingdom. She's gonna spoil them rotten.” 

“I want to be the one spoiling them rotten,” Loki sniffled. “And I'm scared, Anthony. I can't understand why would Odin suddenly be so nice to them. What if it's a part of some plan? What if he wants to-”

“Then there is nothing you can do about it. But Thor won't allow him to hurt your kids, will he? And Hela? Oh, please. She'll kick the asshole's ass. She's got an army, remember? An army of soldiers you can't kill, because they're already dead.”

“But-”

“You're really not gonna go back to sleep, are you, Princess?”

“I don't think so, no. Sorry.”

“It's okay,” Tony sighed. “You know what you need? You need to stop think about it. And you know how we make you stop think about it?”

“Anthony, I'm definitely not in the mood for sex.”

“Who's talking about sex? I'm talking about a Doctor Who marathon. We still haven't finished the fourth season, and there are still four more to watch after that one.”

“Is that your answer to everything? Let's watch Doctor Who?”

“No, my answer to everything is 42, actually. But Doctor Who's definitely my answer to a bad mood with too much bad thoughts.”

“And you will not take my no for an answer, will you?”

“Nope, babe,” Tony grinned and kissed Loki's forehead. “Would you like something to eat or drink? Because I'm gonna have to make myself a cup of coffee if I want to stay awake.”

“Coffee would be nice,” Loki smiled. “Thank you, Anthony.”

“You're welcome, Space Princess. I'll be right back.”

 

Several hours later, Loki had to admit that he was indeed feeling much better. Partly because the show was exactly the distraction he needed, partly because with Tony in his arms, he could never feel sad for long.

And Tony made sure to invite himself to Loki's arms, as if he knew. Well, perhaps he did. Perhaps he just wanted to cuddle.

(Or maybe hide his face in Loki's shoulder when, hours later, he was absolutely, definitely _not_ crying when the Doctor went to see Rose for one last time, just moments before regenerating.)

“Jarvis, we'll take a little break after the credits,” Loki said, petting Tony's hair. “My love, I thought this was supposed to improve my mood.”

“It did,” Tony mumbled in response.

“Up until this point,” Loki grunted. “I don't like the new one.”

That made Tony smile.

“Oh, baby, you will,” he sighed. “And then you're gonna cry your eyes out when he regenerates.”

“I don't wanna watch the new one.”

“Come on, he's kinda cute. And cool. You'll see. But not now, of course. If you don't want to, I mean.”

“I think we should definitely take a little break. My ass is starting to hurt from lying in one position for so long.”

“Oh, yeah, I get it, your shoulder has started to be pretty uncomfortable like an episode ago, but I just don't wanna leave you alone...” Tony murmured, kissing Loki's chest. “But I'm getting pretty hungry.”

“Since this morning, you have had four toasts, half of the bucket of ice cream, a package of Oreos, an old pizza I clearly told you not to eat-”

“How about ordering some Chinese?”

“That sounds nice,” Loki smiled.

Tony sat up and stretched his neck.

“And what then? Do you want to keep being lazy? We could go to the workshop if you'd like to, we've got the teleporter to work on and it's also a good way to distract yourself from stupid thoughts.”

“That, my dearest Anthony,” Loki murmured, also sitting up, and started to slowly massage Tony's upper back, “sounds wonderful. I would love to work with you again.”

“Oh, _yesss_ ,” Tony moaned. “Just what I need, Princess. A little to the left... Yes, that's it.”

“If you keep making those sounds, love-”

“I thought you weren't in the mood.”

“I wasn't,” said Loki. “I might be now. You cannot expect me to hold your half naked body for hours and not be affected. And if you really want to distract me...”

Loki's hands traveled a little lower.

“I definitely wanna distract you,” Tony grinned. “I so wanna distract you, babe.”

“And how would you like to do that?” Loki whispered into his ear.

“I was thinking about laying on my back and spreading my legs for you. You know, let _you_ do the work, that's the best distraction I can think of. And I'll even let you look into my eyes all the time, because I know how much they turn you on...”

“Your eyes? Really, Stark? You think too highly of yourself.”

“Okay, I'll keep my eyes shut, if you... _Loki_!” Tony shrieked when he suddenly found himself on his back with the god's body pressing him into the matress.

“Don't you dare,” Loki groaned. “I want you to look at me. Don't you dare stop. Don't you dare _ever_ stop.”

“I won't,” Tony smiled. “I promise. I love you.”

“You will. One day, you will, my love. And the day will come way too soon for me.”

“No. Don't. Stop it. Only nice thoughts allowed. Come on, my little Space Princess. Kiss me. Fuck me. Make me scream. Enjoy me while I'm here...”

That sounded like a pretty great plan, of course. So Loki did it.

But with each passing second, he was becoming more and more aware of Tony's mortality, of the weak pulse beneath his skin, the bright, beautiful eyes which were about to start losing their gleam all too soon.

“I love you,” he kept whispering to him. “I love you. I love you...”

There was no screaming. Only soft moans and ragged breathing. Tony wouldn't be able to scream even if he wanted to. The look in Loki's eyes stole his breath away. It was just too much. Too good.

Where he came, he actually didn't make any sound at all, his whole body shivering, his gaze locked on the ceiling, pupils dilated, only barely hearing Loki's tiny whimper, nails digging into the god's shoulders, unable to let go.

It was the most wonderful thing he had ever felt in his life.

“Distracted?” he murmured into Loki's ear when both of them had stopped trembling. “Because I am, Princess.”

Loki smiled, holding his mortal closer.

Only minutes later, they both fell asleep.

They didn't make it to the workshop that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm really, really, really sorry for this chapter. It's much shorter than the previous ones, but I just didn't want the guys to jump back into action as if nothing happened, so this needed to be done. Also, I just love the two of them cuddling. :D I promise the next chapter will be longer and more amusing. At least I hope that it will be. :D   
> As always, thank you very much for all your lovely comments. :)


	51. Chapter 51

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki's finally feeling better, Tony hates being left out of things and Bruce gets a little pissed off because of the teleporters. And there is another tiny thing that Tony and Loki are not going to like...

“Hey, the Sleeping Beauty is finally awake, after only two days!” Hawkeye yelled and jumped to his feet when Loki entered the common living room.

“Hello, Clint,” Loki smiled. “Where is everyone?”

“In the lab, sparring, sparring, no idea,” said Clint. “That was Bruce, Steve, Tasha and Thor, by the way. Though I think Thor _might_ have gone to visit Selvig. He was talking about it yesterday, but I refused to join him, because I don't wanna bond with Eric over our common mind control experience when I have no problem being _friends_ with the bitch who did it to us. Where's your prince, Princess?”

“In the shower. I hope he's okay, I might have exhausted him a little.”

“Too much details. Jarvis, I told you to filter too much details!” Clint groaned, looking at the hologram above his wristband. “This is getting really annoying, by the way, reading all the time. Don't you wanna learn sign language, Lokes?”

“I... am... working on it,” Loki said, very slowly signing the words.

“Oh, _wow_ ,” Clint grinned. “How? When?”

-Internet.-

“You know Tasha would teach you if you asked her?”

Loki nodded.

-Can learn myself. Genius.-

“You and Tony were really meant for each other, his answer was exactly the same. Oh, come here, you genius,” he murmured, hugging Loki. “Seriously though, are you okay? We were a bit worried when you two refused to leave your flat yesterday. But Jarvis said you're fine, watching TV and... otherwise having fun, so we let you. We didn't even wake you up for the attack...”

Suddenly, Clint found himself being pushed away, Loki staring at him, frowning.

“Attack?!” the god said.

Clint didn't need to hear or read it from the hologram to understand, his lip reading was good enough for a single word.

“Uhm, yeah. Some trouble with Doombots again, but nothing serious, and this time with none of your kids present. We just let you sleep, we can take care of some bots now that we have those anti-teleporters you and Tony made.”

“Jarvis? I want to talk to Steve or Natasha, could you please call them?”

“Oh, come on, Loki,” said Clint and rolled his eyes. “It's not a big deal.”

“What's not a big deal?” Tony asked, stepping out of the elevator. “By the way, it was really mean to leave me like that, Princess, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get back on my feet.”

“There was an attack yesterday, and they didn't inform us!” said Loki.

“There was a _what_?!” Tony yelled. “Jarvis, I want to talk to Cap or Widow, _right now_!”

“Yup. Just as I said,” Clint nodded. “Meant for each other...”

 

“I just don't _get it_ ,” Tony growled. “I thought we were a team!”

“Right, once more. We _are_ a team,” Steve sighed.

“You ignored me. You just completely ignored me!”

“No, we didn't. Trust me. We thought about calling you,” said Natasha. “But Jarvis said you had just fallen asleep after a very intense sex, so we thought...”

“Jarvis, do you really inform the team about my sex life?” Tony sighed.

“Only when it's somehow relevant, sir.”

“It wasn't. The fact that I got laid a few minutes ago doesn't make me unable to join a fight!”

“The fact that your boyfriend needs you does, though,” said Steve. “Yes, Jarvis told us that tiny detail, too. Loki was depressed. Perhaps still is.”

“Loki's standing right here and he's not depressed,” Loki muttered. “Well, not much. I was feeling horrible yesterday, but... I'm glad my kids are together and happy. It's just that I'd like to have them near me.”

Tony's arm automatically wrapped itself around Loki's waist, holding the god close.

“And that's exactly what I mean,” said Steve. “You would have been no use, Tony. We don't need you to get killed just because you're worried about your boyfriend.”

“I don't need a babysitter, for fuck's sake!” Loki growled.

“Oh, I wonder where did you learn that wonderful word,” Steve mumbled with a shake of his head. “But no one thinks that you _need_ -”

“No? You just implied that you do. I'm the boyfriend who needs to be taken care of. Is that how you see me, just a _boyfriend_? Because I used to be much more than that when I wasn't with Anthony. Does being in love make you a damsel in distress, or what?”

“Of course that it doesn't,” said Natasha. “But if I was feeling like shit, I would prefer Clint to stay with me. Especially if he wouldn't be desperately needed for a mission. Which, I repeat, Tony was _not_. We took care of the bots, we went home, no problem _at all_. Without those anti-teleporters, we'd have been screwed, of course, and calling for help. But those things work perfectly.”

“Oh, yeah, glad I could help,” Tony smirked.

“Come on, Stark, don't be like that,” said Clint. “Seriously, you two, is this what we get for being nice and letting you sleep? I'd be glad if you let me sleep _once_ instead of dragging me away to kill some fucking robots or aliens or what the hell. Just take what you're given and stop fussing, will you?”

“Christ. He's gone bossy,” Tony blinked. “I can't decide if this is your fault, Princess, or Natasha's.”

“Shut up, Stark,” Natasha sighed. “Make yourself some coffee, find something to eat and go to the workshop. Bruce has been working on the teleporter for the past few days, but he's stuck and needs your help.”

“Okay, Tasha's fault,” Tony nodded. “Tasha's fault all the way...”

 

The first thing they saw in the workshop (when they had finally arrived there, giant mugs of coffee still in their hands) was Bruce Banner, sitting cross-legged on the floor, breathing slowly, eyes closed.

“Uhm,” Tony commented. “Hi, Brucie?”

“Don't,” Bruce growled. “Don't even breathe in my direction until I've calmed down. Solve that bloody teleporter of yours, because I just can't and it's driving me mad.”

“Why is everyone so mean to me today, Princess?” Tony sniffled.

“Tony,” Bruce sighed. “I'm serious, don't piss me off.”

“That bad? Oh, damn. Can I help?”

“Yes. By not talking to me.”

“Perhaps I could help,” said Loki and took a few careful steps toward Bruce. “If you let me. I have a spell which should be able to calm you down.”

“It's not _that_ bad. Just let me... Oh, you know what, you two? Congratulations, I'm not angry anymore, I'm just terribly _annoyed_.”

“Well, glad we could help,” Tony grinned as Bruce slowly opened his eyes.

“Asshole,” Bruce sighed. “You wouldn't be looking so smug if Greenie threw you through the wall.”

“I'm used to windows, walls can't be _that_ different. I'd be fine, Princess would heal me. Right, babe?”

“Oh, I don't know. I'm still not very good at big fractures. _And_ you would have absolutely deserved it.”

“Whose side are you on?!”

“Yours, love, of course. That doesn't mean that I cannot have different opinions than you do.”

“Fair enough,” Tony muttered. “Right. Brucie, what's the deal with the mean porters?”

“I don't know,” Bruce shook his head, standing up. “If I knew, it wouldn't be so frustrating.”

“Okay, so let's take a look at it,” said Tony. “Princess, come on, I'm gonna need your help. Brucie, you too, explain what exactly is _not_ working as it should. No, wait, don't. I see it already.”

“Of course that you do,” Bruce smirked. “Wait, you're not kidding?”

“Nope. Genius, remember? Jarvis, run me a simulation of this as it is and I'll explain what's wrong with it to Mr. Banner.”

“Loki, would you mind if I really threw him through the wall? Or, you know, smashed him into the floor or something?”

“A little, yes. I'd miss him a bit. He can be quite amusing.”

“Shut it, or I'm gonna return you to daddy dearest,” said Tony. “No, wait. No. Yes. Tell me, can Hela communicate with Fenrir? I mean... transfer information?”

“Oh, yes, she can. Why?”

“Right, forget it, I wouldn't return you to daddy dearest. Fenrir knows where I live. And facing your three angry kids... No, definitely not a good idea.”

“So you wouldn't send me to Asgard just because you fear their revenge? You are breaking my heart, Anthony.”

“Also because I'd miss you. A bit. You can be quite amusing.”

“Do you two realize that you're turning into the couple nobody wants to be around, right?” Bruce asked. “The only thing missing is a couple name.”

“Well, if you mind, go and tell Tasha to think of something. Or Clint, I'm sure he'd love to entertain his mind with bullshit like that.”

“What is a couple name, Anthony?”

“You know, it's like... if we called the Spy Kids Clintasha instead of... well, Spy Kids.”

“Oh. I see,” Loki nodded. “An idiotic nickname.”

“Pretty much. Bruce, where do you think you're going?”

“I'm hungry. I'm gonna grab something to eat. And don't say you've got food in here, because by _something to eat_ , I don't mean _junk food_.”

“But I wanted to explain the porters to you!”

“Thanks, but I think I'll pass. Just make it work.”

 

Several hours later, Bruce made them go to have lunch with the rest of the team, saying that they hadn't eaten properly for days, so as their doctor, he wouldn't take no for an answer.

He completely ignored their shared comments that their Doctor was Nine. He knew better than to ask for details.

He had to practically drag them out of the elevator, otherwise they would go straight back to the workshop. It was the smell of pizza what made them finally shut up and stop complaining. Instead of that, they obediently walked into the kitchen.

“Oh, hello, Starki,” Natasha greeted them. “Which pizza do you want, Loki? Tony?”

“How was your day? Are we closer to having our own teleporters, Starki?” asked Clint.

“Thor, move your ass, so Starki can sit next to each other,” Steve grinned.

“I am sorry, Starki,” said Thor, standing up. “Please, sit down.”

“Starki,” Loki nodded. “That sounds suspiciously like...”

“Stark and Loki combined,” Tony sighed. “ _Brucie_...”

“What? Seeing green?” Bruce smiled. “I think it's kind of cute.”

“I think I'm gonna burn this tower down,” Loki muttered.

“I think I have some gasoline and matches in the workshop,” said Tony.

“I think they don't like their new nickname,” Clint laughed. “There's another possibility, the one I voted for. Science Princesses.”

“So, Starki,” Tony nodded, quickly sitting down. “Actually, now that I think about it, it really sounds sort of cute...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, how are you? This chapter didn't take that long, did it? You know what it's like, you can do miracles when you should do things for school... :D The next one is probably going to take a bit longer, so I'm warning you in advance. :)  
> And as always, thank you very much for all your comments! :)


	52. Chapter 52

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All Tony wanted was a nice, quiet day to work on the teleporter prototype. Will he get it? Of course not. P.S. Someone might have to show their true face to the team. Quite literally...

“Morning, Starki.”

Tony whined.

“Is this really necessary, Natasha?”

“I'm not Natasha, but I can answer you all the same. Yes, it is. And I don't think it's gonna go away in the near future,” Loki sighed. “Good morning, Natasha.”

“Oh, come on, you are so cute together, that couple name fits _perfectly_ ,” the assassin grinned. “You slept well?”

“And you?” Tony groaned, pouring two cups of coffee.

“Yes, perfectly well,” she nodded. “By the way, good job, Loki. I don't know how you do it, but you manage to persuade him to get at least a few hours of sleep every day. Well, almost every day. That's just amazing, he used to go for days, basically until he just dropped dead.”

“I have a very good motivation to go to bed now,” said Tony.

“But I still had to literally drag you to the bedroom last night,” Loki commented.

“That's because I'm so close to finishing that prototype! Really, Tasha, I only need a few hours, perhaps a day. Tonight or tomorrow morning, it's gonna be done and ready for testing, I can feel it in my bones. Our very own teleporter, can you believe it?”

“Yes, I can,” Natasha nodded. “You've been talking about it during the whole lunch yesterday.”

“You have no idea, dear. He's also been talking about it for the whole evening. He's only really stopped when I distracted him by sex. He started again about a minute after he came.”

“How romantic,” Natasha nodded.

“You, Princess, are not getting any sex tonight, definitely not. And you, Tasha, how dare you? Are you telling me you never discuss weapons and shit like that in bed with Barton?”

“Not really, no. Most of the time he can't keep his eyes open after he comes, and if he doesn't see me signing, we can't talk, simple. But I don't mind. It's actually pretty nice sometimes.”

“I bet it is,” Tony smirked. “Honey, would you mind if I just grabbed something to eat and went downstairs? You can stay here with Tasha if you want to, just come to the workshop later.”

“No, I'm going with you. You need to be supervised, otherwise you'd probably blow up the whole tower. Jarvis, where's Mr. Banner?”

“Isn't he just lovely?” Tony sighed. “How he thinks I couldn't survive a day without him...”

“You couldn't. Last time you tried, you blew up an arc reactor.”

“That was _not_ my... Okay, you've got a point. So what do you want for breakfast?”

 

A Doombot tumbled to the ground after a single repulsor blast.

“I said I only needed a few hours!” Tony growled. “And what do I get? A fucking attack. In fucking _Alaska_!”

“Calm down, darling,” Loki's voice said through the comm. “The lab is still going to be there when we get back.”

“We could get back much sooner if you helped us, you know?”

“I'm sorry, love, but I've told you I wasn't going to fight. I'm not an Avenger. Merely your technical support.”

“You helped us the last time!”

“Yes, because I had to avenge my son. Right now, I don't have anything, so I'm just going to sit here in the jet and watch how you kick their asses.”

“Very helpful, Lokes,” Clint commented. “Really, guys, I hope we're gonna be invited to the wedding. Which one of you is gonna wear a dress?”

“Ten bucks says it's gonna be Tony,” said Natasha.

“I'm really glad you're all having so much fun,” Steve growled. “But we've got work to... Fuck!”

“You're welcome, Cap,” Clint snorted. “The fact that I'm having fun doesn't mean I'm not paying attention, you know?”

“Loki, we really might use the help!” Thor shouted.

“You can manage. You're the Avengers. The Earth's mightiest heroes, a demi-god, a living legend, an angry green beast, two master assassins and, well... one Tony Stark, unfortunately.”

“Instead of those cheeky remarks, my little Princess, you could be killing Doombots. What are you doing there anyway?”

“Reading the manual for the jet.”

“What? There's no such thing!”

“There is now. Jarvis was so very kind as to create one for me,” said Loki and Tony could practically hear his smug grin.

“Why do you need the manual anyway?”

“What a stupid question, love. I want to learn to fly the jet.”

“Yes!” Clint yelled. “You owe me fifty bucks, honey!”

“Damn it, how did you know?” Natasha growled.

“Because Loki used to be one of the most skilled pilots in Asgard and loves flying? Sorry, came up during a chat we once had, and you weren't there, so you didn't hear it, and-”

“I get it. You're a cheater, Barton.”

“Well... Yeah. But I still win.”

Loki smirked and tapped the screen of his tablet to turn the page of the manual.

 

Half an hour later, the fight was over and the members of the team completely exhausted, currently discussing which one of them was to go to the jet and fly it back to pick up the rest, when a strange shadow fell on the ground around them.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” Tony laughed, looking up. “That's my clever Princess. Guys, I think our ride is here.”

“How the hell did he do that?” Steve blinked as the jet slowly descended to the ground.

“With a little help from Jarvis, I admit,” said Loki. “Can I fly us back home? Please please please?”

“Works for me,” Natasha grinned.

“I... I will probably use Mjölnir to take me home, thank you,” Thor gulped. “There is a reason why Loki is one of the best pilots. He is skilled, yes, but he is also completely crazy.”

“Well, thank you, brother,” Loki laughed and opened the door of the jet. “Please, fly with your beloved hammer, I don't mind.”

“Mr. Stark,” Jarvis suddenly said. “I would like to bring to your attention an old storage building about a mile from here. I cannot find a reason why, but it seems that its temperature is much lower than the temperature of the rest of the area.”

“How lower?” Steve frowned.

“Like a polar bear could freeze to death there,” Tony mumbled. “All right, everyone, into the jet. Loki, let's practice taking off. We're gonna have to explore that little temperature glitch.”

 

They were standing right in front of the main door, all except for Loki, once again arguing. This time it was about who should go inside and try to find out what's going on. The main argument was, of course, between Steve and Tony.

“Come on,” said Tony when the discussion had already been going on for about five minutes. “My armor's gonna protect me.”

“Against this? I doubt that,” Steve smirked.

“Just admit it, you wanna sleep for another seventy years, right? Because that's what's gonna happen if you go in there. You're gonna freeze within minutes!”

“And you think your armor is gonna survive that?” Bruce frowned. “Tony, that's just mad. I'd say I'd go, but the Hulk would be useless in there, if you don't want to tear the whole building down.”

“Screw it. I'm going in,” Tony muttered.

“No, you are not,” Loki said, right next to him. “Oh, Norns. It's just as I thought. Seriously, Thor? You can't _smell it_?”

“Smell what?” Thor frowned.

“The ice. The cold. The snow. The wind. The _winter_ ,” Loki whispered. “Don't you know the smell?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about, brother.”

“Jotunheim. It's _Jotunheim_ ,” Loki sighed. “And the smell is not the only thing. The fool tried to open the portal between the realms, I can _sense_ it.”

“What? Are you telling me there might be frost giants inside?” Thor frowned, clutching the Mjölnir's handle tighter.

“Not yet. There is going to be one in there soon,” Loki grinned. “My dear Anthony, a true genius, right? Who are we going to send into a building in which it's freezing?”

“We don't have to send anyone in,” Steve said. “If you know what's going on-”

“Yes, but I have to close the portal, of course,” Loki shrugged.

“And you think you're not gonna freeze to death?” Natasha blinked. “Tony, tell him something!”

“Don't worry, I'll be right back,” Loki winked and vanished. Immediately afterwards, his voice came through the comms again. “It's like in that stupid song in the fairytale I didn't like. _The cold never bothered me anyway_...”

“Is he really quoting Frozen?” Clint blinked. “Or am I just going insane?”

“Oh, and by the way, I might come back looking a bit different. I'll explain later,” Loki added. “Just don't get scared, please.”

 

The autopilot was on and Loki, his skin blue and his eyes ruby red, turned around to face the rest of the team.

Nobody seemed scared. In fact, when he had appeared in front of the storage building again, nobody even flinched. And Clint made a comment about expecting Loki to have two heads and some extra limbs. Being blue? Not even worth mentioning.

“So...” Loki took a deep breath, fighting the urge to open the door and jump out. “You have never properly heard about Jotunheim, right?”

“Except for a few myths, no,” Natasha shook her head.

“And you have never heard about... frost giants.”

“You have called them monsters a few times,” said Clint. “But you're one of them, aren't you? Judging by the... _cold never bothered me_ comment. You are not just adopted, you are... Hell, that's why fire is so bad for you, right?”

“Yes,” Loki nodded. “And yes. I... I just hope you will be able to accept me even when you know the truth. I know you mortals don't have a reason to be afraid of the frost giants, but I understand that my appearance might seem... terrifying?”

“Loki, we're used to seeing the Hulk in action, trust me, a bit of blue is nothing,” Steve smiled.

“And the eyes are amazing,” Natasha added.

“Yes, they are. I love them, too,” said Tony, standing behind Loki and placing his hands on the god's shoulders. “Damn, you're really cold, Princess, even through the clothes.”

“Perhaps. I cannot feel it at all. Don't worry, I will be able to change back into my usual form once I get warm again.”

“I'm not worrying. You can stay like this if you want.”

“You know that I most definitely don't,” Loki growled.

“Okay,” Natasha nodded. “I think I would like some... explanation. _I am a frost giant_ just doesn't cut it. How did you even get to Asgard, for example? Why don't you look like this all the time?”

“Oh, dear,” Tony sighed, slowly massaging Loki's shoulders. “I really don't wanna hear that story again. It makes me hate Odin more and more. Sorry, Thor.”

“Do not be,” Thor shook his head. “I understand.”

Loki closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

His skin changed back to normal halfway through his story. He didn't even notice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, if you wanted an eventful chapter after a bit boring ones, here you go. :D I must say that I'm not entirely happy about it, but I'm afraid I can't make it any better, so I'll just ignore my subconscious and leave it here. :D I should probably also inform you that we're getting closer and closer to the end. I have no idea how many chapters are left exactly (that will depend on my mood as I write), but the end is near... ;)  
> And as always, thank you very much for your comments! :)


	53. Chapter 53

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The teleporter is complete and Tony is a little bit too eager to try it out... But really, not very much happens in this chapter, sorry!

“ _Eureka_!”

“Fuck, Anthony!” Loki gasped. “You startled me!”

“I'm sorry, Princess, I'm so sorry, but I've _got it_ , you get it?!” Tony laughed. “It's done, it's complete, I've got my own teleporter!”

“I thought the device was to be used by the whole team, love,” Loki frowned, but a slight smile was tugging at his lips.

“Of course, but this is just a prototype, you know? So I should be the one trying it out, in case there are any bugs or... something. The Avengers will get a new version, _improved._ Bug-free. This is a beta version. Well, alpha version. It will probably work just right, 'cause I'm a genius, you know-”

“Sir, shall I remind you of the first time you were testing the repulsors?” Jarvis asked.

“And whose side are _you_ on?!” Tony yelled.

“Jarvis, please, do tell me,” Loki grinned. “And if you have any video evidence, I want it sent to my tablet, immediately.”

“Jarvis, don't you dare,” Tony growled. “And you, Ice Princess-”

“Hush. Oh, dear, you looked so _gorgeous_ a few years ago.”

“Excuse me, are you telling me that right now I don't? And... Jarvis, don't tell me you sent him _that_ video!”

“I don't know which one do you mean, sir.”

“The one in which I'm trying to achieve lift.”

Loki chose that very moment to burst out laughing, loud and almost hysterical.

“That would be the one, sir.”

“Come on, Jarvis, say it,” Tony sighed. “You like him better. Just say it, I won't get mad. It's fine, he's obviously... Princess, stop giggling into my ear.”

“I'm sorry, but that was just so _funny_ ,” Loki murmured, wrapping his arms around Tony. “My beautiful genius, smashing himself into the wall like a fly...”

“It was the first test. I had no idea what the repulsors were capable of. Everybody starts somewhere. Loki, seriously, stop giggling.”

“You would be equally amused if you saw my first attempts at certain spells,” Loki grinned. “I managed to change myself into a cat once. I spent four days like that, until mother returned from the journey she had been on. Thor knew the cat was me, of course, but he was too busy laughing to do something about it. Something like... find my teacher so he could change me back. Oh, mother wanted to kill him when she found out...”

“Don't expect me to pity you. I'm sure you deserved it for being an arrogant piece of shit.”

“I did,” Loki admitted. “And I pissed on his pillow when I was a cat.”

“Jesus, Loki!” Tony laughed. “Isn't that a bit too much, even for you?”

“You think so? I don't.”

The door of the elevator made a soft ding and hardly a second later, they both heard hurried steps.

“Is it done?” Bruce gasped, bursting into the workshop.

“You,” Tony said, pointing his finger at his fellow inventor, “are supposed to be resting.”

“And you weren't supposed to work on this without me,” Bruce smirked.

“How do you even know I've finished?”

“I asked Jarvis to tell me, what do you think? I wanted to see the finished teleporter. Plus, I can't let you test it alone.”

“Why the hell not?” Tony frowned. “Bruce, really. You should be in bed.”

“Don't make me angry, Tony. You won't-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Whatever. Will you at least sit down?”

“That's probably a good idea. Jarvis, have you started the diagnostics?”

“There's no need. I'll just try it out and we'll see if it works properly or not.”

“Tony,” Bruce sighed, sitting down. “We've talked about this before. That is _not_ a proper scientific method.”

“But it's always worked for me,” Tony shrugged.

“The repulsors, love,” Loki grinned.

“Okay, that was one time-”

“Sir, shall I make you a list of other times when this approach turned out to be a mistake?”

“Loki, what have you done to my Jarvis? He didn't use to be so... _cheeky_. No, thank you, J, I don't need a list. I need... a lab rat.”

“Why are you looking at me?” Loki frowned.

“I need a lab rat,” Tony repeated. “One which won't get harmed if the teleportation goes wrong and it ends up fifty miles from here instead of, for example, in front of the tower. One which will be able to get back if the teleporter breaks down after the first journey. That's entirely possible, by the way. I need a lab rat which already knows _how_ to teleport and will just use this lovely device here instead of the magic it uses-”

“Stop calling me _it_ , ask nicely and I might consider it, Anthony.”

“Okay, as you wish,” Tony grinned and got down on one knee. “Loki Liesmith, would you do me the honor of being my lab rat?”

“That is a bit too nice, love,” Loki smiled, running his fingers through Tony's hair. “Get up, you fool. What exactly do you want me to do?”

“First, help me up. Thank you. Now, it was your idea to control it with thoughts, so you should _know_ what to do. Just take it, think about the place you wanna get to and press the button. But concentrate on _not_ using your magic, okay? That would mess with the results.”

“You must think that I am a complete idiot.”

“Well, _you_ asked what to do. I'm telling you what _not_ to do.”

“Uhm, boys? Before you start, could I at least take a proper look at it?”

But Loki had already grabbed the teleporter and closed his eyes. His fingers danced above the device, glowing green.

“Oh, yes,” he murmured. “This should work all right.”

“Ha. See, Brucie? Magical diagnostics!”

“That's still not a proper scientific method, Tony.”

Loki smiled and pressed the button on the device, vanishing into thin air.

“Damn,” Tony frowned. “We should have given Princess a comm. How are we supposed to know... Oh my god!”

“I'm right here, my love,” Loki whispered into his ear.

“You asshole. You teleported behind me. That's not fair. That's so _not fair_.”

“Perhaps, but I couldn't resist,” Loki shrugged. “By the way, you don't need a lab rat. Magic may not be a proper scientific method, but I am absolutely sure the device is safe.”

“Absolutely _absolutely_ sure?”

“Yes. And you can take it from me, because I'm an expert when it comes to this.”

“So I can take this,” said Tony, taking the device from Loki's hand, “and go wherever I want, yeah?”

“Within the radius of about ten miles, yes,” Loki nodded. “You will have to train a lot if you want to go further than that.”

“Okay, we'll play a little game, then,” Tony laughed. “You've got a minute to find me, if you can, then tonight, I will-”

“Boys, I'm still here!” said Bruce. “And I wanted to see the teleporter.”

“In a minute, Brucie. Ready, Princess? And no cheating. No tracking down the signal or anything. Just _guess_. Three... Two... One.”

Tony disappeared.

“You are _sure_ it works, yes?” Bruce frowned. “He appeared somewhere, and he's got everything he should have, and he's not inside out...”

“I will send you the teleporter in a few seconds,” Loki smiled. “Good night, Bruce.”

“Good night? You expect Tony to go to bed after completing one of his biggest inventions? He will want to go back down and start working on a version for The Avengers.”

“Yes. He will _want_ to. But I am going to make him want something else even more,” Loki winked. “As I said. Good night.”

And then he was gone, too.

 

Tony didn't flinch when Loki appeared on the roof of the tower.

“Hello, Ice Princess,” he smiled.

“Can't we go back to _Space_ Princess?” Loki sighed, getting hold of the teleporter and concentrating on sending it back to the workshop.

“How many tries before you found me here?” Tony asked.

“Just this one. Bruce kept me in the workshop for a little while. I knew where you were going to go.”

“Of course you did. It's our special place. Or something. Hey, remember the first time I found you here? And you were projecting all the stars onto the... Oh, wow.”

“Like this?”

Tony stared at the sky with hundreds of bright stars.

“Exactly like this,” he whispered. “And remember how you... Told me the illusion is all you've got left? And you said that if you got back to Asgard, the rest of your life would be... short. Why didn't you tell me about your sentence then?”

“Because you hated me, and you were determined to keep on hating me.”

“But maybe if I knew-”

“It doesn't matter, Anthony. You are mine now,” Loki sighed. “Mine. The past doesn't matter. The stars don't matter. Asgard doesn't matter. It's not my home anymore.”

“What, Midgard is? Or just New York? Or just this tower?” Tony asked, tilting his head.

Loki wrapped his arms around the inventor and kissed his forehead.

“No. You are my home,” he murmured.

Tony didn't even try to suppress the large grin which started to spread across his face. He hugged Loki closer and buried his nose into the god's shoulder.

“I love you, too,” he quietly said. “My Princess... God, why did I hate you so much?”

“Because you are an idiot, basically.”

“Oh. Yeah, that's probably it. Your idiot?”

“My home, my idiot, my everything.”

“Loki...”

The god's hungry lips found Tony's, kissing him passionately, and the inventor knew the conversation was over.

He didn't mind it very much, especially when, only a minute or two later, his back suddenly met the mattress of his bed and Loki's hands were all over his body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, sweeties! I'm sorry this chapter took me so long to write, but you know how it is. Real life happened, I had to write a very important thing for school and mentally recover from Crimson Peak... And suddenly it was almost a week since the last chapter. I only hope this one was worth the wait. :D And as always, thank you so, so much for all your comments! :)


	54. Chapter 54

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony's nearly done with the teleporters for the team. Well, he would be if a certain someone let him work on it... (Plus, the first time the team actually tries the teleporters, not everything goes according to plan...)

“Uhm. Morning?”

Loki turned his head and raised his eyebrows at very confused looking Clint Barton.

“Good morning, Clint,” he said. “Why the hell are you looking at me like this?”

“Wait,” Clint said, looking down at his wrist only to find it empty. “Damn, again? Wait a minute, I'll just go downstairs and grab... What?”

-What is wrong?- Loki slowly signed.

“You mean with me or with you sitting here? With me, well, I'm an idiot. With you... Have you noticed Tony's not around, right?”

Loki nodded.

-Workshop.-

“Still working on those teleporters for us?”

Another nod.

“And he sent you away?”

-I went. Boring.-

“I bet it is. It was probably fun while he was inventing it, but now that he's just building them for the whole team... I can imagine _that's_ fun only for Tony.”

-He loves it.-

“Of course he does. You know, Tony tends to get a bit... overexcited about things. He even tends to become addicted for a while. You would know something about that.”

Loki frowned.

-About what?-

“Well,” Clint laughed, turning around to start preparing his morning coffee. “He's clearly become addicted to you, didn't he? And you are totally addicted to him. Ouch! Tasha, how the hell did you get here?!”

She handed him his wristband, signed him to make her a coffee, too, and sat on the chair next to Loki's.

“Hello, the less annoying half of Starki,” she said. “Please, ignore Clint, his body is here, but his brain is still in our bed, refusing to get up.”

“Do you think Anthony and I are addicted to each other?” Loki frowned.

“Let's just say it's very strange to see one without the other,” Natasha shrugged, but she was smiling. And it wasn't one of her dangerous smiles, but a genuine, friendly one. “You are kind of cute, though.”

“Cute? That's disgusting.”

“Maybe a little. I never expected I would call _you_ cute, but there you go. We can say it's all Tony's fault if it makes you feel better.”

“Not really,” said Loki. “But it is.”

“Of course it is,” Natasha laughed. “But seriously... I must say I envy you a little.”

“Envy me what?” Loki blinked.

“No, you... plural. Both of you. You and Tony. You are just so obviously in love. I don't know how you do it. After all you've been through, you just... let yourself fall and you enjoy it. I can't do that. I can do _love_ , but I can't do _in love_. All the touching and gazing into each other's eyes, holding hands...”

“We don't do that very much, you know?” said Loki. “Especially the holding hands part.”

“Of course not,” said Clint, placing two mugs onto the table. “Most of the time, you're too busy hugging.”

“When did you turn that thing on?” Natasha frowned. “How much did you read?”

“All of it?” He sat down and moved his chair closer to Natasha's. “And, sweetheart, I really hope you weren't about to start telling Loki how you wish you could do those _in love_ things for me, because I remember telling you I don't mind that you don't. If I get a little kiss every now and then...”

Natasha rolled her eyes, but leaned in and pressed her lips to Clint's.

“Careful,” Loki smirked. “Someone might even think you are _cute_.”

“Who's cute?” asked Tony's sleepy voice. “They're cute? They're not cute. We're cute. You shouldn't drink coffee at night, by the way, or you're gonna have trouble falling asleep.”

“It's seven in the morning, love,” Loki smiled.

“Is it? Shit. I've been working all night again? Why didn't you drag me to bed? I was looking forward to it.”

“Is that why you put the workshop on lockdown?”

“We both know that you could teleport inside if you wanted. You could probably just ask Jarvis to end the lockdown for you, and he would,” said Tony and yawned, sitting straight onto Loki's lap. “Morning, Princess.”

Loki sighed and passed Tony his coffee.

“You should get some rest, you know?”

“Probably. But I want to finish the teleporters. I'm nearly done, baby. Then I'll go to bed, I promise. And while I sleep, you can teach the team how to play with our new toys, what do you say?”

“Don't you want to have the honor?”

“Hell, no. You know what you're talking about, you'll explain better. You know, Yggdrasil and all that jazz...”

“Don't you dare fall asleep on my shoulder, Anthony, or I'm gonna murder you.”

“You love me too much to do that,” Tony yawned. “By the way, you smell wonderful. Is that my shampoo?”

“It might be,” Loki grinned. “Would you like some breakfast and more coffee?”

“Oh, _yesss_...”

Clint jumped when one of Loki's clones appeared by the nearest kitchen counter and started to prepare breakfast.

“Holy hell!” the archer shrieked. “Okay, I'm never gonna get used to that.”

“Sorry,” Loki shrugged and pointed at Tony. “But this wouldn't let me stand up.”

“This. I'll remember that,” the inventor smirked, his brown eyes almost closing. “Hey, Princess, wanna go to the workshop with me?”

“To make sure you won't fall asleep and accidentally blow it up, my dearest?”

“Yeah, that was the general idea.”

“In that case... Yes. Gladly.”

“You already have a very mean plan how to keep me awake, don't you?”

“Hush. Of course not. Just drink your coffee,” Loki grinned.

Tony eyed his cup suspiciously.

“Oh,” he said. “And I thought it tasted funny. You alien bitch.”

Only a few seconds later, he was fast asleep.

“I'll be right back,” Loki winked at two unimpressed spies. “I'll just put him to bed.”

 

Steve was turning the teleporter around in his fingers, carefully examining it. It was a simple, round device with a button right in the middle. Not a very elegant solution from Tony, but Steve guessed there were fancier models coming up in the very near future, perhaps with a fingerprint lock or completely controlled by thoughts.

“I think Tony said you were going to explain it to us when he's finished all of the teleporters,” Bruce told Loki.

“Yes, but he... fell asleep before he did, so I thought I might as well explain it now,” Loki shrugged. “Seriously, he was dead tired. Even coffee didn't help him.”

Clint winked at Natasha.

-I think the coffee certainly helped,- he signed.

She nodded, grinning at Loki.

“Okay,” Steve nodded. “So tell us. Tony's been incredibly secretive about it.”

“It's not very difficult, really. Those teleporters work on the same principle as my own teleportation magic. They use a simpler method than Doom's teleporters, so they're suitable for, well, mortals. His are not, they use the branches of Yggdrasil to travel. One trip wouldn't _kill_ you, but you would certainly end up unconscious.”

“Shit, he's turning into Tony,” Clint muttered. “Spare us the details, Lokes, we want instructions.”

“Oh, dear... Think of the place you want to get to. Press the button. Don't let your mind wander. If you think ' _I wish I could get to the Moon_ ', you're basically dead. Right now, you cannot get further away than about ten miles and you cannot make more than... three or four jumps before you need to rest, I'd say. And that's only if you jump from one room to another, if you jump ten miles and you try to jump back immediately, you will definitely faint when you land. Steve, you can probably jump further and more often, Bruce, you might, too, but I wouldn't push my luck if I were you.”

“I get it,” the scientist nodded. “We've already discussed that.”

“Thor, of course, is something else entirely. He's not a mortal, and he's used to teleportation, because in the past, we needed to... leave some places in a bit of a hurry, sometimes.”

“You had to run,” Natasha translated.

“As fast as possible,” Loki nodded.

“Is that why I do not have a teleporter?” Thor frowned. “Because I do not need to practice?”

“No, it's because Tony haven't finished your reinforced one yet,” Loki smirked. “You need to practice more than anyone else, brother. With an attention span like yours, it will be a miracle if you don't end up in Asgard at least once a week.”

“Believe it or not, but I knew you were going to say that, brother.”

“Oh. Am I that predictable? Interesting.”

“Boys. Stop it,” said Steve. “Why doesn't Bruce have a teleporter?”

“Because _I_ don't need to practice. I have already tried the prototype. I know what I'm doing. Besides, I won't get to use it in fight.”

“All right,” Natasha nodded. “So where are we supposed to get?”

“How about the kitchen?” Clint suggested. “I'd kill for some more coffee.”

“As you wish. Try to teleport to the kitchen. Just don't-”

Clint disappeared, and Natasha followed him a heartbeat later. Almost immediately after that, there came a yell from the kitchen, followed by a loud crash.

“-land on top of each other,” Loki finished.

“What exactly happens if you try to materialize on a spot that's already... occupied?”

“Most of the time, you appear on top of the object blocking your way,” Loki chuckled.

“Meaning Natasha just landed on Barton's head?” asked Bruce.

“Basically.”

They heard a moan filled with pain and several swearwords in Russian.

“Right. I thought I would rather try the gym, how about that?” said Steve.

“The gym sounds perfect,” said Loki.

Steve closed his eyes and pressed the button on his teleporter. In a blink of an eye, he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhm, hello. It's me again. I hope you haven't forgotten about this story, that would be bad. I'm really sorry, real life is a bitch and it's gonna get worse, so don't expect updates too often. Sorry again! I will of course try to update as often as possible, there's only a few chapters left to write... ;) And as always, thank you very much for ll your comments! :)


	55. Chapter 55

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finishing the teleporters might take a bit longer than Tony expected. Loki's not entirely happy about it. He is probably even a little angry...

“ _Rock of ages... Rock of ages..._ ”

Was it only the imagination of Tony's sleepy brain, or was it really Loki's voice singing the song?

“ _Still rollin'... Keep a-rollin'...”_

Oh, it was definitely Loki singing.

“ _Rock of ages... Rock of ages..._ ”

Singing and dancing in the middle of the living room, wearing black leather pants and nothing else. The sight made Tony's blood immediately head south.

“ _Still rollin'... Rock'n'rollin'..._ ”

The god turned around and grinned at Tony.

“Well, hello, my love...” he purred.

“Don't,” said Tony. “I'm pissed off.”

“You don't look very pissed off, dearest,” Loki commented, licking his lips. “More like... aroused.”

“Well, you can't expect me to look at that wonderful ass in those tight pants and listen to you singing a Def Leppard song and not be at least slightly affected... Are those your armor pants, by the way?”

“Yes,” Loki smiled, wrapping his arms around the inventor. “Do you like them?”

“Stop it, Princess. I'm telling you... Okay, you're allowed to keep your hands there, but don't you dare going lower. Why did you sing Rock of Ages, hm?”

“That's what you called me once, isn't it? You know, when...”

“I know,” Tony nodded. “Hey! I said... Get those hands out of my pockets, right now!”

“Are you really mad at me, Anthony?” Loki sighed, bit his lower lip and gave Tony his most miserable puppy eyes. “Please, don't be mad at me. I meant no harm, please, love, I don't want you to be angry, I love you, I can't stand the thought of losing you, please...”

“You are not a princess, you know? You're a manipulative bastard.”

“I thought I was an alien bitch,” Loki smirked. “I mean... manipulative? My love, I have simply _no idea_ -”

“You poisoned my coffee,” said Tony, placing his palms on Loki's barely covered hips. “You can't just go around poisoning my coffee. Poison Clint's coffee, or Steve's, not _mine_.”

“It was not poison. I merely wanted to help you sleep, you clearly needed it. And it was _my_ coffee.”

“But you gave it to _me._ How did you even do it, eh? How did you manage to put whatever you put in there-”

“Do you really need to ask?”

“Oh, yeah, I guess I can guess. Magic.”

“Precisely,” Loki smiled and placed a gentle kiss on Tony's lips. “You know I would never harm you, don't you, Anthony? Never. I would give my life to protect you, and I wouldn't hesitate for a second.”

“Don't worry, Princess, I know,” Tony sighed.

“And I wasn't lying when I said I can't stand the thought of losing you.”

“Loki, no,” said Tony. “Don't go there. Please. You'll get all sad, and I don't want you to be sad, so please, _please_ , don't go there, okay? Tell me... Tell me about the teleporters. Did you show the team how to use them?”

“Well... Yes, I did,” Loki muttered. “And I've got some bad news.”

“They don't work? Barton ended up on top of the Statue of Liberty?”

“No, they work. And... Well, Natasha landed on Clint's head, I'm sure Jarvis has the video for you. But...”

“But what?” Tony blinked. “Come on, just tell me, Princess, is it really that bad?”

“No, just... Thor wanted to try it, too.”

“Oh, _damn_ ,” Tony cursed. “And the reinforced one wasn't ready yet.”

“It wasn't,” Loki confirmed.

“So it's one more teleporter to build, yes?”

“I'm afraid so, love. Sorry...”

“Don't worry about it, it's not your fault your brother is a _giant oaf_. Is that what you call him, yes?”

“Yes,” Loki grinned. “I promise I'm going to help you with building a new one.”

“Works for me,” Tony nodded. “But don't make me coffee. I don't ever want a cup of coffee from you again, you get it?”

“Absolutely. Let's see how long will that rule last...”

 

“Lokiii...” Tony whined. “Coffee, please?”

“Jarvis?” Loki grinned.

“One hour and twenty-seven minutes, sir,” the AI announced.

“What?” Tony blinked. “Oh, damn. Forget about it, Princess, I don't want any coffee from you!”

“You don't? Okay, as you wish.”

“ _What_?!”

“You said you don't want coffee, I said okay. Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what, Princess?”

“Like I said Dummy was just a useless piece of scrap. Which you're not, Dummy, sweetheart, don't worry. You are one of the cutest robots I know.”

That made the bot whirr happily.

“No, I will not tell you you are my favorite, Dummy. What would the other bots think, my silly darling?”

The bot whirred again, and this time, it sounded disappointed.

“What did we say about fishing for compliments, D?” asked Tony.

Dummy responded with a desperate hum.

“Now you've made him sad,” said Loki and stood up. He took a few steps toward Dummy and patted its head. “Hush, darling, he didn't mean it. You're one of my favorites, okay? And one of Anthony's, too. Yes, yes, you can trust me, yes. Don't worry, we love you.”

The sound the bot made could almost be described as a purr.

“Wow. You're good at this,” Tony smiled. “Now you're on your feet... Screw the rule, make me some coffee. Please.”

“Of course, love. How's the work on the teleporters going?”

“Better, now you're not getting in my way,” Tony laughed. “What are you reading, by the way?”

“The usual. Books about healing. But I'm really tempted to just grab my phone and browse through Twitter for a while.”

“Do it then? I, on the other hand, probably have another sleepless night before me.”

“You could just finish it in the morning, love.”

“No, I definitely could not,” said Tony.

“But-”

“I mean it, Princess. Just... No.”

“Why?”

Tony shrugged.

“Because I said so, babe. I won't go to bed until I'm done. So I'm gonna need _lots_ of coffee.”

“As you wish,” Loki sighed. “But don't complain when you find yourself sleeping on the table...”

 

Loki closed his eyes, shaking his head.

“Anthony-”

“Don't you dare!” Tony growled. “If you don't like something, you're free to go away. Go to bed, if you want. I'll get there in a few hours.”

“You are tired, you are almost falling asleep, why don't you just rest, at least-”

“I said something, Loki!”

“But-”

“ _No buts_!” Tony yelled, banging his fist on the table. “Don't you think I'd like to go to bed? But I need to finish this. I've told you already. I just feel I _have to_ do it, the sooner the better. So shut up already, okay? I can do this.”

“You've been here for-”

“I can go for days without sleep, twenty-four hours is _nothing_ for me! What, do you think that just because I'm a puny mortal or whatever, I'm gonna drop dead because of one sleepless night?!”

“You are insane, Anthony. What am I supposed to do, drag you to your bed like a stubborn child you are?”

“You're supposed to leave me the _fuck alone_! Seriously, Loki, stop it, stop it right now. Just _shut up_ and _go_!”

“Anthony,  _ please _ .”

“ _ Fuck off _ , Loki. Just get the fuck out of my workshop. Let me do my work!”

Loki crossed his arms in front of his chest to cover the fact his hands were shaking.

“All right,” he nodded. “I'll go. I will spend the night in my old bedroom. Just so you know.”

“Oh, yes, of course. You know what, you're not a princess, you're a fucking  _ drama queen _ . Okay, as you wish, I don't care. Spend the night in Thor's flat, spend the rest of your fucking  _ life _ in Thor's flat, you don't need to come back to  _ my _ flat ever again, I don't  _ fucking care _ !”

Loki's only reply was vanishing into thin air.

 

He appeared on Thor's couch, curled into a tight ball, his whole body shaking. The blond god blinked in confusion.

“Brother?” he said.

“Don't... Don't ask,” Loki whispered. “It's not his fault. He is tired, he is angry because nothing is cooperating, he doesn't realize what he's saying. I shouldn't have tried to convince him to be reasonable, he is never reasonable when he's working. It's  _ Anthony _ , for fuck's sake. What am I, an idiot? Don't I know what I am like when I've been working for days? Don't I know I can't be convinced to leave my project unfinished? Why am I doing this to him?”

Thor placed his arms on Loki's shoulders and pulled his brother closer.

“Because even though you know it, you still hate to see him destroying himself for some idiotic reason his stubborn mind insists on.”

“Is this the reason why you used to burst into my study and bother me until I gave up and left?”

“That's a terrible lie, brother. You never left until I've sent mother to drag you out.”

“Oh, yes,” Loki murmured with a tiny smile. “Would you mind if I used my old bed tonight, Thor? We can even spend the evening watching some stupid comedy, I don't mind.”

“But shouldn't you-”

“I'd better not. I'll just... leave him alone, as he wished. If he wants to see me, he will come here. If he doesn't...”

“I am sure that he does, little brother.”

Loki rolled his eyes.

“If you ever call me 'little brother' again, you witless oaf...”

“Then what,  _ little brother _ ?”

“I don't know. I guess I'll think of something.”

Thor, of course, didn't realize that Loki had already thought of something until several hours later, when he finally saw himself in the mirror. But during the whole time, the sight of his hot rod red hair had been cheering Loki up significantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this probably wasn't necessary. Except it absolutely was. :D I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, darlings. It's gonna get better. Maybe. Maybe not. I guess you'll have to wait for the next chapter to see. And by the way, the end is gettig pretty near, only a few chapters left...  
> And of course, thank you all very much for all your lovely comments! :)


	56. Chapter 56

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The stubborness of the two idiots might have some very catastrophic consequences...

It was five in the morning when Tony and Loki met in the kitchen. Tony had just finished his work on the teleporters and Loki had given up his attempts to sleep after several hours of tossing and turning.

“Oh,” was all that Tony said when he realized the person in front of him was indeed his lover.

“Well, good morning,” Loki smirked and took a sip of his coffee. “My  _ dearest _ .”

“Stop it, Princess,” Tony sighed. “Just for your information, I'm not gonna apologize.”

“Neither am I, I'm afraid. Though I wasn't the one who snapped, or was I?”

“Yeah, but you kind of made me snap,” Tony commented, sitting down on a chair next to Loki's.

“Did I? Of course, how horrible of me, caring about you,” said Loki.

“You know it's not about that.”

“I really don't, Anthony, no. What  _ is _ it about, then?”

“It's...” Tony shook his head. “I don't know. It's just that every bloody time you get patronizing like this-”

“Excuse me? I'm not-”

“Loki. Shut up. Please,” Tony sighed. “I know you want what's good for me, I know you're trying to keep me as sane and physically healthy as possible. I know you love me. But still, I feel horrible when you do it. Like I'm... Like I'm only a stupid mortal who doesn't know how to take care of himself. Like I'm just a kid, and yeah, to you, that's probably what I am. A kid. Fuck, you're centuries old, and I'm... I'm not even a kid to you, am I? Maybe like... a newborn. Or a hamster, I don't know. Am I a hamster? Oh god, I'm not a hamster. I'm a fucking  _ ant _ !”

“Oh, great. So it's all about you.”

“Of course that it's all about me! I'm trying to explain you why did I-”

“Do you have any idea how it feels like to watch you destroying yourself, Anthony?!”

“A few days of work, that's hardly gonna-”

“A few days, but how often? How many years you think you've got left? And how many years if you go on like this?”

“That's exactly what I'm talking about, Loki. You might not believe it, but I am an  _ adult _ . I'm perfectly able to make my own decisions. And I know my lifestyle isn't exactly good for me, but I don't know how to do it any differently, you know? I just... I can't go to bed when there's still so much work to be done. And I just had this feeling... Oh, never mind. You wouldn't understand.”

“You had this feeling because you wanted to have this feeling, to justify staying up for  _ days _ .  _ I _ have feelings, my dear Anthony, when something bad is going to happen.”

“So I can't have a feeling, right? Because I'm a stupid mortal.”

“I didn't say-”

“No, no. It's you, of course, a god and a sorcerer and whatever. And of course, your dear  _ mommy _ used to foresee the future, what's my bad feeling compared to that, eh?”

“Don't you dare, Stark, to talk shit about my mother!” Loki growled. “Because the window is  _ right there _ .”

“Oh, the window again. It's getting a bit old, don't you think? Come on, think of something new. Something amazing,  _ Space Princess _ .”

“Interesting,” Loki mumbled, his face suddenly going completely blank. “I thought I would never hear the nickname in  _ that _ tone again.”

Tony hesitated for a second. Then he realized what he had just done.

“Loki,” he gulped. “Loki, baby, I didn't mean-”

“Don't,” said Loki, shaking his head. “I am sorry, okay? I am terribly sorry for caring about you, I am sorry for being afraid of losing you. Perhaps for you, five or ten years of your life don't really make a difference, and considering  _ my _ lifespan, they shouldn't make a difference for me, either, but they do. Every year, every day I get to spend with you is important to me, I can't imagine what I will do once you're gone, why don't you bloody  _ understand _ ?!”

Tony didn't have an answer for that.

So he just shook his head and left.

 

“Loki, that's your fourth cup of coffee since I came to the kitchen this morning,” Natasha commented. “What's going on? And where's Stark?”

“Sleeping, probably,” Loki shrugged. “I don't know. I really don't.”

“Okay,” Clint frowned. “Details, please.”

“We had an argument. Two, actually. Or one, but split into two. Because we're both stubborn idiots.”

“But so self-critical,” Clint nodded, then yelped when Natasha buried her elbow into his ribs.

“What the hell happened? You don't argue, you are like the sweetest couple ever, you-”

“I thing  _ trouble in paradise _ is the correct term for this,” Loki sighed. “Please, ignore me, okay? It's going to be fine. My bigger concern is that Anthony claimed to have a  _ bad feeling _ , and even though I hate to admit it, I have one, too. Like something terrible was going to happen...”

“Like your oncoming caffeine overdose?” asked Clint.

“No, Barton,” Loki smirked. “More like-”

That moment, Steve popped up in the middle of the living room, holding his teleporter. (Loki had  _ tried _ to explain that they shouldn't use them for getting from one floor of the building to another, but he wasn't very successful as, as everyone pointed out, he sometimes used his magic to get from the kitchen to the living room.)

“A Doombot attack!” Steve announced.

“Oh, no, another one?” Natasha groaned. “Okay, Jarvis, wake up Tony, please, and inform the others. Loki, you coming?”

“I... No, I don't think that would be a very good idea,” Loki shook his head. “I don't feel like piloting today, and there's no other point in me coming with you, as I don't fight. But take care.”

“Don't worry, I've got my lucky charm. Remember the pendants you gave us months ago? I still wear it,” Clint grinned as they all started for the elevator. “Where's the attack, anyway?”

“Stuttgart,” Steve sighed.

“Damn. What's with those supervillains and Stuttgart?” Loki sighed.

“You tell me, Loki.”

 

“Hawkeye! Could you please fucking fire the fucking antiteleporting device so they fucking stop fucking teleporting when I fucking want to fucking shoot them?!”

“Tony, you know I don't mind a little swearing,” said Steve. “But this is a bit too much, don't you think?”

“And there's more coming,” Clint announced. “Because I fucking fired the fucking device like a fucking minute ago.”

“What?!” Tony yelled. “They're still teleporting!”

“Yup. Seems Doom found a way around it, so your antiporter's useless. Congrats, boys.”

In Avengers Tower, Loki yelled several swear words which would probably make a Viking blush. The team couldn't hear them, of course. The god didn't have his comm on, he just made Jarvis stream the team's communication for him.

“Oh, fuck,” was Steve's reaction to Clint's announcement.

“And here we go,  _ fuck _ is officially our favorite word today,” said Tony. “Ha, there you go, you bitch, don't mess with me when I'm pissed off, I'm worse than the Hulk!”

“Shut up, Stark,” Clint growled. “You had to have the first fucking big argument with Loki  _ just today _ , eh? If you didn't, he'd be here with us and able to stop-”

“Clint, watch out!” Natasha suddenly yelled.

“-them from teleporting and-” the archer continued, unable to hear her and obviously ignoring his wristband.

Then Loki heard it.

A second of white noise, probably caused by teleportation. And then...

The sound he knew all too well. The sound he had often caused himself. A little surprised grunt followed by a gurgle as someone's throat began to fill with blood.

Then came Clint's voice.

“Tasha! Oh my god,  _ Tasha _ !”

Loki's hands were trembling. This was his fault. All his fault.

She was dying. He could hear her wheezing, gasping for air.

He closed his eyes.

There was only one thing he could do.

He knew he only had seconds.

The pendant...

 

“Tasha,” Clint was whispering, trying to put enough pressure on her throat,  _ stop the bleeding, just stop the bleeding _ , but it was too much... “Please, Nat. Please, honey...”

She was just staring at him, eyes wide, breath ragged.

Then someone grabbed his wrist and pushed his hand away. Pale fingers closed around Natasha's throat, shining with green light.

“Loki,” Clint gasped.

“Look at me, Natasha,” the god ordered. “Fix your eyes on me. Keep them open. Don't you dare close them. You are going to be fine. I promise.”

“Loki?!” Tony yelled through the comm. “Did you say  _ Loki _ ?!”

“Hawkeye, could you tell us what the hell is going on there? What happened to Natasha?!”

“A... Doombot. It teleported behind me,” said Clint, his whole body shaking like a leaf. “Nat saved my life, but it... it... cut her throat open. And Loki... Loki's trying to heal her.”

“Loki's not  _ trying _ ,” Loki growled. “Loki can do this.”

“Yeah? Did  _ any _ of your clones ever survive a wound like this?!”

“Not helping, Barton,” Loki frowned.

He knew Clint was right. Loki hadn't been able to heal an injury this big, never, no matter how hard he had tried. The blood loss was too big and he wasn't fast enough. He could feel his magic knitting the veins together again, but the blood was still flowing and Natasha's breath was becoming shallow and Loki knew that clouded look in people's eyes...

He took a deep breath and ignored all the warnings his body was giving him, breaking his limits, using more magical energy than he should, everything to make the spell stronger.

When it was over, he was left gasping and nauseous. He had to lean against the nearest wall to keep himself upright. He didn't dare to open his eyes. He knew that the spell had worked.

“Tasha. Tasha...” he heard Clint sigh.

“I'm fine,” she murmured. “I'm fine, I'm fine...”

Loki couldn't bring himself to move. He had exhausted himself. He was going to recover soon, he knew that, preferably with the help of lots of sugar, but now, he was close to dozing off.

Until he heard the sound of repulsors right next to him.

Only seconds later, his face was clasped in gentle hands with rough fingertips, the hands he loved so much...

“Hello, Princess,” Tony whispered. “Pretending to be a hero, are we?”

It was hard to open his eyes, but he had to. He looked at Tony and smiled faintly.

“Hello, Anthony,” he replied.

“I don't want to put too much pressure on you, babe,” said Tony. “But we need to stop those bitches from teleporting around. Meaning we need you.”

“Bring me a Doombot. I'll do it,” Loki nodded.

“Okay. I'll be right back,” Tony smiled and gave Loki a short kiss. “I'm sorry, Princess. For everything. I love you. I love you so much...”

Loki saw the question in Tony's eyes when he pulled away. And hope, too.

“Anthony,” he sighed. “I didn't have time for shorter jumps. I had to use the Yggdrasil.”

There it was. The hope shattered to pieces in a single second.

“I...” Tony croaked. “I'm gonna get you the bot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I'll just pretend I'm not here, nope, not at all. :D The good news is, there is a chance you won't have to wait a week for the next chapter, as I'm tempted to write it as soon as possible and I might even have the time to do it, if I don't get an unexpected shift at work. (So pray that I don't.) The bad news is, the next chapter is not going to be any better, but shhhhh...  
> As always, thank you very much for your comments and not trying to find me and kill me...


	57. Chapter 57

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki has broken Odin's rules. Now he has to pay the price. Well, if someone doesn't stand up for him...

“All clear here,” Steve announced.

“Same here,” Clint replied. “Tony?”

“Unfortunately all clear,” Tony growled. “Well, everything covered in pieces of Doombots, but... yeah.”

“Taking out your anger on those poor robots, my love?” Loki asked.

“And what else am I supposed to do?!”

“Calm down, Anthony. Being pissed off doesn't change anything.”

“Those bitches nearly killed Natasha,” said Tony, taking off. “And they basically killed you.”

“No, love. My past actions killed me. I am to receive the punishment I deserve for invading your planet and causing deaths of thousands of people, as well as other crimes. I was given a chance to live in this realm,  _ free _ , with only a few rules. I have broken those rules. I have to pay the price.”

He was saying the last two sentences to the Iron Man armor which just landed on the roof. Only when Loki finished did Tony raise the faceplate.

“But it's not  _ fucking fair _ !” he said. “You only broke those rules to save Tasha's life. The last time you broke them, it was to help your friends, too. How can Odin punish you for something like that?!”

“Didn't you hear? He is punishing me for what I did in the past. You know all about my sins, tell me I don't deserve it.”

“You deserve it just as much as almost any member of the team would,” said Natasha. “It's not right. You've got blood on your hands, Loki, no doubt there, but you've changed. You saved my life, even though you knew it would cost you yours.”

“I would do anything for those I love,” Loki shrugged.

“Would you?” asked Tony. “Fine. Run. Run away, right now, as fast as you can. Go somewhere where Odin can't find you, hide from him, do anything to stay alive,  _ please _ .”

“No,” Loki shook his head. “No, my Anthony, I can't do that.”

“Why the hell not?!”

“Because I know I have to face my punishment. And I don't want to spend the rest of my life on the run.”

“Please, Princess. I don't want you to die...”

“Guys. I don't want to give anyone false hope,” Clint commented. “But how do we know Odin noticed that Loki used the Ygg...something? He could have totally missed that.”

“I am sorry to interrupt,” said Jarvis's voice. “But there is a visitor from Asgard in the tower.”

“I think that's your answer, birdie,” Loki smirked. “What does he look like, Jarvis? Don't say he's got a beard, they all do. Just tell me something distinctive about him.”

“That would be the golden patch over his right eye, sir.”

“Oh,” Loki whispered, clearly surprised. “So he came for me himself.”

“Who did?” Tony blinked. “Odin?!”

“Does someone,  _ anyone _ know where my idiot of a brother is?” asked Loki. “I would like to speak with him before I teleport back to New York, and I suppose he's destroyed his comm again.”

“Uhm, yes, Thor's here,” Steve said. “We're going to pick up Bruce. Should I... inform him?”

“Please, do,” Loki nodded.

“You don't think I'll let you teleport there alone, Princess, do you? No fucking way. You're flying with us. Let the old bitch wait for a while, if he wanted to take you away immediately, he should have picked you up here.”

“Anthony-”

“ _ No _ is not an answer I'm gonna take, Princess. Jarvis, let that one-eyed fucker into the common living room, but don't allow him to go anywhere else. Loki... I'm sure as hell not gonna give you up sooner than I absolutely have to, understood?”

“All right. As you wish,” Loki sighed. “Captain? We'll meet you in the jet.”

Natasha stood up on her still slightly shaking legs. She felt as weak as a fly and she could only hope she would be able to recover during their way back home.

As Clint took her arm and placed it around his shoulders to support her weight, Natasha winked at Tony. The billionaire slightly nodded.

 

The mood in the jet had never been worse. The moment they took off, Tony sat down on Loki's lap, wrapped his arms around the god and refused to move an inch. Thor was seemingly calm and quiet, but the storm brewing around the jet betrayed his true emotions. Clint was chewing his lower lip, but only Natasha could feel him shaking.

None of The Avengers ever truly realized how much Loki meant for them. He had long since stopped being only Thor's brother who needed their help. He was one of them and he was a friend. None of them even bothered to be cautious around him anymore. Loki had their complete trust.

“It's just not fair,” Clint said after several endless minutes of silence. “You saved Tasha's life. He saved Tasha's life, Thor! How can they punish him for something like that?!”

“Oh, not again,” Loki sighed. “Once more, it's not a punishment for-”

“Not asking you, Princess!” Clint snapped. “Thor?”

Tony winced at the mention of the nickname and hugged Loki even closer than before.

“I cannot change father's mind,” Thor muttered. “If he wants to bring Loki back to Asgard, I will not be able to stop him.”

“Why the hell not?” asked Steve.

“Because  _ he _ is the king,” Loki smirked. “Not Thor.”

“But you could be, Thor,” said Tony. “Couldn't you? Why don't you tell daddy dearest you're willing to become the king? Convince him to postpone the execution, then, when you're comfortably sitting on the throne, you can officially forgive Loki and bring him back to me. How about that?”

“I don't think that would be possible. After all, I didn't forgive Thor when  _ I _ was sitting on the throne.”

“Because you wanted to keep me out of Asgard for as long as possible, brother. And the second time, you forgave me treason. It was for the same reason, but...”

“Yes. Also a part of my crimes,” Loki shrugged. “Stop weeping into my T-shirt, Stark. Seriously. By the way, Thor, I could have thrown you into a prison that second time, but knowing your beloved  _ friends _ , they would have set you free by the morning, so there was no point. You're the one lucky enough to have friends willing to die for you, not me...”

“I'm willing to die for you,” Tony whispered.

“I know,” Loki nodded. “And I'm telling you, don't you  _ dare _ , Anthony. I don't want you to risk your life, I don't want to spend the rest of mine knowing that you are dead because of me, or that he will force you to watch my execution just to hurt both of us.  _ Please _ , love. Don't.”

Clint was already opening his mouth when Natasha softly squeezed his shoulder. He understood.

Tony sighed.

“So you're expecting me to just stand there and watch Odin drag you away.”

“Exactly. Because there is nothing else you can do, dearest. And do you know what I want you to do now?  I would have you smile again,  _ not grieve _ for  _ those whose time has come _ ...”

“Yes, uncle Theoden,” Tony muttered.

“I mean it, Anthony. Smile. Right now. Pretend that nothing bad is happening, we're just flying home from a mission. Talk to me. Tell me what we are going to do tonight.”

“You're completely crazy, Princess.”

“I'm not, but that can change very easily. Please.”

“Okay,” Tony nodded. “Yeah, you know... Okay. So I think we're gonna start by watching TV. Lazy evening, haven't had one for a while. You still haven't seen anything with the Eleventh Doctor, have you? We need to change that. And then... I think we could move it to bedroom, would you like that? And then... Fuck, Loki, I love you, okay? Just remember that I love you, please. Please...”

 

They were nearing the tower. Jarvis had already announced that yes, Odin was waiting in the common living room, just as Tony had demanded. Loki was piloting, wanting to enjoy it for one last time. He was so absorbed he didn't even realize when Tony's armor started to assemble arounf the inventor.

Suddenly, Tony took a deep breath.

“Now,” he said.

Loki couldn't even ask what did he mean by  _ now _ , because before he even managed to open his mouth, all the Avengers had teleported from the jet.

“What the hell?!” Loki yelled. “Anthony, what the fuck do you think you're doing?!”

 

Inside the common living room, Tony smirked, staring right into Odin's single eye. The faceplate of his armor was up.

“Oh, you know, when you said you didn't have friends willing to die for you... You couldn't be more wrong.”

“You have got to be kidding me. Tell me you're kidding me, Stark!”

“Hush. Not now, Loki,” said Natasha, her stings ready, even though she still didn't fully trust her strength. “Focus on your task. If you even scratch my baby, you're gonna pay for it.”

“Technically, I'm gonna pay.”

“Shut up, Tony.”

Odin eyed the team assembled in front of him, his expression clearly amused.

“Do you mortals think that you are a match for me? Do you think you can stop me? You will all die.”

“Yeah, I'm willing to try,” said Bruce in a tone so calm and quiet that it nearly scared the hell out of Tony. “But I wouldn't bet it's gonna happen.”

“You would give your life for Loki?” Odin laughed. “ _ Loki _ ? The selfish creature who invaded your realm and killed hundreds of people only because he is vain?”

“Yup. Anytime,” said Clint. “Besides, he risked his life for me and for my girlfriend, I owe him one.”

“Thor?” said Odin, turning his gaze to his son.

“I am sorry, father, but I will stand by my brother.”

“As you wish,” Odin replied. “I shall make sure that you will regret your-”

“No!” Loki yelled, suddenly appearing between the team and Odin, right in front of Tony. “Please, no, don't hurt them! I will leave with you, I will go willingly, just don't hurt them. They are stupid, they don't understand what they're playing with, I am sorry, I am so sorry, please, forgive them.  _ Please _ .”

“You won't go anywhere, Princess. Shut up and stand behind me, or I swear I'm gonna tie you up tonight!”

“Anthony... Natasha, please. Steve. At least one of you must be sensible!” said Loki, his voice verging on hysterical.

“We are perfectly sensible,” Steve shrugged. “You are a friend. You're a part of the family. That means we'll fight for you whether you like it or not.”

“Thor!”

“I'm sorry, brother.”

“Anthony, do you really want to destroy your precious tower?”

“Time to redecorate, babe.”

“No,” Loki whispered, fiercely shaking his head. “Just no.  _ No _ ! Father, please!”

The next moment, he jerked when he realized what he had just called Odin.

The old god shook his head.

“I am willing to give you five minutes to convince them to let you go. After all, it would not be wise to kill the mightiest heroes of this realm...”

“We don't even need five  _ seconds _ ,” said Clint.

“Are you all bloody insane?!” Loki shouted. “Anthony. Anthony, I'm begging you. Let's talk about this. Please, love...”

“Hm... Okay. Five minutes,” Tony nodded. “But I want that bitch out of here. He can wait on the terrace.”

“Thor? Loki sighed. “Would you please accompany the Allfather?”

“But Loki-”

“Just  _ do it _ , you oaf.”

Thor nodded. A few seconds later, the door leading to the terrace closed behind him and Odin.

Loki was watching Tony's face. His poor, poor mortal. Loki knew him too well, knew he had a plan... And knew the plan was going to blow up right into Tony's face. Loki hated himself for what he was going to do.

“Jarvis,” said Tony. “Full lockdown. Secure the windows. Now.”

“Of course, sir.”

_ And here we go... _

“Right. Princess, you're gonna sit down and let us do the work. Everything's gonna be just fine, okay? We can take him down.”

“You would have to kill him,” Loki sighed, looking into Tony's angry eyes as metal plates slid over the windows. “Are you ready to kill your teammate's father?”

“I'm ready to kill Thor himself if I have to,” Tony growled, unable to hide his rage any longer. “I won't let anyone take you from me, you get it? Anyone! You're  _ mine _ !”

“My Anthony,” Loki smiled and leaned in to kiss the billionaire on the lips. He longed to touch him, one last time, but the suit was in his way and he didn't dare to ask Tony to take it off. That way, it would be  _ Loki's _ plan which would blow up in  _ his _ face. “I love you so much.”

“Love you, too,” Tony whispered. “And that's why-”

“Thank you all,” said Loki, taking a step back. “Thank you for standing up for me. You are my friends, and I love you all. I was happy here, thanks to you, for probably the first time in my life. So it pains me to do this, but... You will find your teleporters temporarily useless. The effect will pass once I'm gone.”

“Gone?” Tony blinked. “Oh, no. No, no, no, Princess, you're not going anywhere!”

He took a step forward and grabbed Loki's shoulder, at least he wanted to grab it, but his fingers only grasped thin air. The god's shoulder started to disperse into golden glimmers.

“Loki,” Tony gasped. “What have you-”

“I am sorry, my love. I am so terribly sorry...” said Loki and gave Tony a last sad smile. The illusion vanished.

“Jarvis!” Tony yelled.

The metal plates started to slide back up, but the motion was too slow, Tony knew it was, And he couldn't break them, the teleporter didn't work, just as Loki had said, and there was nothing he could do, nothing but wait...

When they were finally able to see the terrace again, the lights of the Bifrost were just disappearing. Odin was gone, and so was Thor. And, presumably...

“Loki,” Tony whispered. “Princess...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, really, so sorry it took me so long to write and post this. I was working on this chapter for the whole week, but never seemed to write more than a few hundreds of words, being torn between my part-time job and my school and my life generally. Also the chapter somehow got much longer than I had expected, so perhaps that will be a consolation to you. Or maybe not. Yeah, I'm sorry for another cliffhanger, they just keep happening... :D  
> And thank you everyone for all your wonderful comments! :)


	58. Chapter 58

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a little surprise waiting for Loki in Asgard. Meanwhile, the team on Midgard tries really hard to stop Tony from completely falling apart...

Loki had thought he would never see the Bifrost observatory again, but there he was. Standing once again in that familiar place, looking at the stars he knew and loved so much...

Feeling like a stranger.

He didn't belong here anymore. He never had, but now he was realizing it more than ever before.

“All right,” he sighed. “All I want is a guarantee that you will not harm Anthony or the others for standing up for me. And then, please, at least give me a quick and merciful death.”

“I do not care what you want, Loki,” said Odin. “You and I must talk.”

“Oh. So definitely not a quick and merciful death, then. Thor? Could you please split my skull? Thank you so very much.”

“I thought you wanted me to come along so you would not die alone, brother,” Thor smirked. “I will not kill you.”

“As you wish,” Loki nodded. “In that case, I'm gonna have to jump into the void, because if that's what I need to do to avoid another stupid conversation-”

“Norns, Loki, stop being so melodramatic!” Thor rolled his eyes. “Father only wants to speak to you.”

“No, Thor, he wants to bore me to death before he actually executes me. Oh, hello, Heimdall,” said Loki, walking out of the observatory. “Hm, interesting. No Einherjar in sight. Aren't you afraid I might attempt to escape?”

“If you wanted to escape, you would have done it already, Loki,” Odin sighed as both he and Thor followed Loki out. “Let us not play games.”

“I'm not playing a game. This is  _ my _ life we're talking about!” Loki smirked. “Oh, but really. Shouldn't I be brought before you in  _ chains _ once again? This isn't nearly as stylish as the last time. What about my muzzle, eh?”

“This,” said Odin. “This is the influence of the mortal?”

“I'm afraid so,” Thor nodded.

“Horrible.”

“Don't worry, you will not have to put up with me for long,” Loki shrugged, still walking several steps before Odin and Thor. “So what will it be? An ax? Will you send my head back to Tony Stark, gift-wrapped?”

“Can you believe it? And he calls  _ me _ an idiot,” Thor laughed. “Oh, brother...”

Loki stopped dead in his tracks as the realization dawned on him suddenly, the realization which should have come  _ fucking sooner.  _ He turned around, staring alternately at Thor and at Odin for several long moments.

“Oh, no,” he then whispered. “No, no, no. You  _ didn't _ . You couldn't, Thor, you... For  _ months _ ?!”

“Trust me, it wasn't easy,” Thor shrugged. “But it would seem that this oaf is not as witless as you might think.”

Loki's gaze shot between the two gods a few times again.

“All right,” he nodded. “Where do you want the talk to happen,  _ my king _ ?”

“Wherever you wish, Loki. And please, stop-”

“I'll wait for you in mother's favorite garden.”

With that, he was gone.

Odin sighed and also disappeared.

“Sometimes I wish I could be able to teleport, too,” Thor smirked. “Heimdall?”

The guardian behind him nodded.

“I will keep an eye on Tony Stark and I will let you know immediately if he wants to do anything stupid.”

“Thank you, Heimdall. I appreciate it.”

 

Tony had not moved for more than five minutes. No matter who tried to talk to him and what they said, he didn't even acknowledge their presence. He was kneeling in front of the terrace door, staring at the pattern burned into the paving, hardly blinking. He wasn't shaking, he wasn't crying. It was as if he was completely stunned.

Natasha sighed and sat down by his side once again, taking his hand into hers.

“Stark,” she tried. “Tony, come on. You can't fall apart like this.”

No reaction.

“Loki would kill you if he knew.”

Nothing, not even a shrug.

“Tony, please. Thor has gone with them, perhaps he can sort it out and Loki will come back to us.”

It was as if she wasn't even there.

“There was nothing you could do, please, remember that. He made his decision, you couldn't have stopped him.”

Tony's voice was barely a whisper when he spoke.

“But I killed him, Tasha.”

“Bullshit, Tony,” she shook her head. “How can you think-”

“Because I'm an idiot. And we had a stupid argument. So he didn't want to come with us when we were called. So he wasn't there when you needed him to save you, so he had to teleport to save you, so he broke the rules of his exile and so fucking Odin came and now, just because I'm a stubborn  _ dick _ , the love of my fucking life is going to be fucking  _ executed _ .”

“Christ, Tony, it wasn't your fault. It wasn't anybody's fault. You might blame it on me as well, for getting almost killed, or on Clint for not hearing my warning. In fact, if anyone, you should blame it on fucking  _ Doom _ for sending his bots in the first place.”

“Trust me, I'm blaming it on Doom,” Tony sighed. “But it was my fault, too.”

“Tony...”

“Don't. Please... Don't. Just let me hate myself and hate the Universe and hate Odin. Okay?”

Natasha shook her head. It was definitely not okay...

 

“So, you basically played me. How nice,” said Loki with a smirk and conjured a cup of coffee for himself. “There was never any execution waiting for me, right?”

“Is that Iron Man?” Thor frowned.

Loki turned his bright red mug around so he could see the picture on it.

“It's his helmet. So? What else did you expect? Back to our main topic, please. My death sentence.”

Odin took a deep breath and Loki tried very hard to keep a straight face as he, just in that moment, realized how old and tired Odin looked. Loki hated himself for even caring, but couldn't help himself.

“Your mother,” said Odin and it was a bit easier for Loki to ignore the deep wrinkles on his face. “She had a gift of foreseeing, as you know.”

“Of course,” Loki nodded.

“The day before she died, she had one of her visions,” Odin continued. “About you, Loki. She said that the Golden Avenger will bring our son back to us. She probably also knew she was going to die soon, because... She made me swear that instead of punishing you, I will send you to Midgard to live with him. I didn't know what she was talking about at the time, of course, you had already been punished, imprisoned... And the Golden Avenger?”

“That's Anthony, of course,” Loki smiled. “So, when the time came, after the battle with Thanos...”

“I did what your mother asked me to. I had no choice. I had made a promise.”

“So you pretended to sentence me to death, and  _ then _ you pretended being talked out of it by my dear brother, because... Oh. Because I would have known that something was amiss otherwise. I was expecting to be sentenced to death, so you couldn't have shown kindness to me. Thor had to be involved.”

“Precisely,” the blond nodded. “And we even had a reason to bring you to Midgard, and to the exactly right person. Of course, we were not sure who the Golden Avenger was supposed to be, but yes, I believed that it was Tony Stark.”

“But I don't understand one thing,” said Loki. “Why the rules?”

“Because if you hadn't had the rules, you would have never stayed on Midgard for longer than a minute.”

“Perhaps,” Loki carefully admitted. “But you could have just taken away my powers, as you had took them from Thor when you exiled him.”

“You know that is not possible, Loki.”

“Do I?” he frowned.

“You might be an Asgardian, Loki, but you are not Aesir. Your magic is not of the same nature as ours and I do not have the power to take it away from you. Your magic is not  _ learned _ , it is a part of your being. I can block your access to it for a short amount of time, but never bind it.”

“Oh.”

“Oh indeed, brother,” Thor smiled.

“That makes sense, actually. But... Seriously, wow. How did you manage, Thor?”

“Never think that it was easy to lie to you. I didn't like the plan from the beginning. Especially when I saw you falling apart, struggling to keep Stark from kicking you out of the tower, because you thought it would mean going back to be executed, and when you fell for him but to him, you were nothing...”

“Thank you, there is no need for bringing back this kind of memories,” Loki shook his head. “And what about Doom? I don't think that was some kind of a test for me, was it?”

“Unfortunately not,” said Odin. “That is a problem I don't know how to solve. We know that he is hiding somewhere among the branches of the Yggdrasil, but he is hiding well. I have not been able to find him yet.”

“Hm,” Loki smirked. “Just for the record, I was completely pardoned, right? No more rules for me. I can teleport from realm to realm as much as I want. Right?”

“Yes,” said Odin. “But if you think that you can find him easily, you haven't changed as much as I thought.”

“But of course that I can find him. You know why? I have a very good motivation. This shit is fucking personal.”

When Loki vanished into thin air (his wide grin being the last thing to disappear, a joke neither Thor nor Odin understood), Odin turned his head to his other son.

“Stark's influence,” Thor shrugged. “Not all of it is good, I am afraid...”

 

The team really  _ tried _ to entertain Tony, there was no doubt about that. All right, it probably wasn't the best idea to suggest watching Doctor Who (thank you very much, Clint), but they didn't want to let him hide in his apartment and start drinking himself to death.

Which, frankly, was exactly what Tony wanted to do. If he was lucky, he could even end up in Helheim  _ before _ Loki does.

_ Two hours since he left. Is he dead already? Is he about to die any minute? Will they torture him first? _

Then came a moment when the whole team finally let their guard down. And Tony was just about to give Jarvis a quick order and run to the elevator as fast as he possibly could and pray Natasha won't reach him before the door shuts behind him. He was ready to jump to his feet any second.

And then he felt it. The all too familiar tingle of magic,  _ Loki's _ magic, the teleportation magic...

“Princess,” he whispered.

“I'm afraid not,” said Hela's voice.

Tony's heart sank.

_ Of course. Almost the same magic, but not  _ exactly.

“So they've done it,” Tony nodded. All of a sudden, he felt numb, empty, almost as dead as his Princess was. “He was executed.”

He couldn't bring himself to say Loki's name.

“No, father is very much alive,” Hela said and Tony forced his head to turn to face the godess. He blinked when he realized that there was also Fenrir standing next to her, right in the middle of the living room.

“Where is he?” Tony croaked. “About to be executed?”

“No,” she shook her head. “It is... complicated. He is going to be away for a while. And he is afraid Doom will try to send his robots here. The only thing stopping them until now was father's magic, but he cannot maintain the spell any longer, as he is going to need all his strength for his... quest.”

“Spell?” Tony blinked. “Oh, fuck, of course, I never realized...”

“He is aware of that,” Hela smiled. “So he asked me to bring Fenrir to protect you, and, well...  _ Keep you sane _ .”

“Where is he, Hela? Tell me, please.”

“Where do you think?” she smirked. “On a hunt...”

 

She refused to tell Tony any details. In fact, she disappeared only a few seconds later, without even saying goodbye.

After explaining who the hell the weird woman even was to the team, Tony was finally allowed to leave the common living room and go to bed. Now that he knew that Loki was alive (and probably going to stay alive at least for a while), he was just terribly tired. He wanted to sleep for a week. Preferably be woken up by a kiss from his Princess.

_ Although it was supposed to work the other way around, probably, princesses should be woken up by kisses from knights in shining armors... _

Tony crawled into his bed, fully dressed and also fully aware of the fact that Fenrir was following him all the time.

“Look, I can offer you to sleep in my bed with me,” Tony sighed. “But I must warn you that in that case, I'm gonna cuddle with you, and probably cry into your fur at some point, and you basically really don't want to sleep next to a nervous wreck like me. But if you could accept that, I'd be glad, because I really fucking miss your dad and... Hello, Shredder.”

Fenrir gently nudged Tony's shoulder, making him lay down, and then curled into a ball next to him.

Tony sighed and wrapped his arm around the wolf's warm, soft body. It was nothing like having Loki around, of course, but it was going to keep him sane. Probably. Just as Loki wanted.

He felt tears prickling his eyes, but he didn't want to cry, he really didn't, but...

“He is going to be okay, isn't he, Fenrir?” he heard himself ask.

The wolf lifted his head and gave Tony an almost reassuring look, just before licking his face.

Tony smiled.

“Well, I guess that's a yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, hey, look, the new chapter is up sooner than you probably expected, yay! (Or nay, maybe.) Am I too horrible? I'm sorry, really, so sorry! But well, yes, this was the plan all along. I just hope you're not disappointed. Don't worry, there's definitely gonna be more about the whole Odin thing in the future chapters... ;)  
> As always, thank you very much for all your comments! :)


	59. Chapter 59

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week has passed since Loki was taken to Asgard and Tony's trying not to fall apart. But then Thor comes back and Tony might get a distraction he definitely didn't ask for...

A week had passed and there was not a single message from Loki.

Tony was a nervous wreck. He had tried to lock himself in the workshop, watch his favorite movies, even work out, which was something he hated most of the time. It was useless. He was worried sick about Loki.

But in a way, he was also grateful to him for at least sending him Fenrir. Without Loki's son, Tony would have probably gone mad during day one. The wolf had a calming effect on him. His soft fur and deep, clever eyes... Was it possible for a wolf to have eyes similar to Loki's? They just looked so familiar...

And they (as well as the effort of the whole team, Tony had to give them that) helped him make it through to day seven without drinking himself into oblivion.

Day seven was when the Bifrost opened again and Thor appeared, dressed in his battle gear and looking seriously upset.

He went inside the same way cats do after they have been gone for a week – pretending he had been just there all the time, _what do you mean by away_?

“Friends,” he said. “Asgard needs your help.”

“Hello to you, too,” Clint smirked. “Where's Loki?”

“That is something I would also like to know,” Thor sighed. “Because we need him even more urgently than the Avengers.”

“What's going on?” Steve frowned. “Jarvis, call Tony.”

“Already done, sir,” Jarvis announced. “He is on his way upstairs.”

“Doombots started appearing in Asgard,” said Thor. “Not too many of them, but I am afraid that more will come.”

“And why didn't you start with _that_?” asked Natasha and jumped to her feet. “Barton, up!”

“Yes, ma'am.”

 

“So you really have no idea where your brother is?” Tony smirked as he stood in the middle of the giant ornament decorating his terrace. “Amazing, yeah. Do you know if he's even _alive_?”

“Oh, yes. He walked among the smallest branches of Yggdrasil only hours ago.”

“Meaning he was alive a few hours ago. Nice.”

“Tony, I know sarcasm is your usual way to cope with things, but be honest,” Steve sighed. “Is it working now?”

“Totally not,” Tony shook his head. “Are you sure it's okay for Fenrir to come with us, Thor?”

“If more Doombots appear, we are going to need every... paw. Do you have any idea if the device which stops them from teleporting will work in Asgard, Stark?”

“Yeah, absolutely, I mean, I've had so many chances to _test it_ on a completely different planet... Holy shit, Thor, I'm not sure my _armor_ will work properly!”

“But there is a chance, yes?” Thor asked.

“Of course there is. Your _brother_ was the one who helped me invent it, after all.”

“Good. We are going to need to stop them from jumping from place to place. It is hard to stop them otherwise.”

“You don't say. Thanks for telling me, really, Thor, I've never fought them before, you know.”

“Do you think yourself amusing, Stark?”

“Loki would.”

The door opened and Natasha entered the terrace, followed by Clint. When the whole team gathered inside the borders of the ornament, Thor looked up and took a deep breath.

“Heimdall!” he shouted. “Open the bridge!”

A second later, Tony watched the sky open and a large column of white light descend to swallow them all. And then the light was everywhere around and it was not white, but flickering with all the colors of the rainbow and so beautiful and amazing... And then they were going up and Tony's head was spinning and he had to fight the urge to close his eyes, he wanted to see _everything_.

Then, suddenly, the movement stopped and they were standing inside a golden globe, or trying to keep standing instead of falling over.

“Welcome to Asgard, Avengers,” they heard.

“We don't have time for this,” said Thor before anyone had a chance to look around them. “Tony, you will go with me, we will fly to the palace. Fandral, you will take the rest of the team and Fenrir to the city and kill every Doombot standing in your way.”

“Of course, Thor,” the blonde nodded, eying the monstrous wolf suspiciously.

“I'm sorry, when did you become our leader?” Tony frowned.

“Just follow me, Stark.”

Tony closed his faceplate and nodded. A few seconds later, he and Thor were on their way to the palace.

 

“Barton!” Tony yelled.

“Working on it. I need them to fucking stop flickering in and out of existence!”

“Well, so do I, that's exactly what I'm shouting at you!”

“Too long to read with a bow in my hand, I'm sorry, Tony. Ha! Yes, there you go, you bitch!”

“Good boy, Barton! Let's see if the upgrade works on them. I didn't have Loki to help me with them, but... Oh, yes, I did it, Princess, I _did it_!”

“Finally,” said Natasha. “I was getting pretty... Oh, _shit_!”

“What?” Tony frowned. “Shit!”

A Doombot appeared right in front of him. Tony's reaction was fast enough. He raised his hand and fired his repulsor into the robot's face, blowing most of its head off.

“Was it 'shit, there are more coming'?” Steve asked. “Because that's what's happening here, and they are not affected by the antiporter!”

“Oh, great. Fucking _great_!” Tony groaned. “Thor, can't you do something?”

“Me?” Thor smirked, frying one of the robots with his lightning. “I don't understand how Yggdrasil works, we need... Father! You must know what to do!”

Tony flinched when one of the nearby Doombots exploded.

“I do not, Thor,” said Odin. “I cannot possibly imagine which spell Loki used to stop them!”

Oh, how Tony hated working with him. Because _really, was Odin pretending that everything was perfectly fine and that he had never banished his adoptive son to Earth and had never threatened to kill him?_ Yeah, Tony's memory wasn't nearly that short.

“Great, so my boyfriend is a fucking genius, which is fantastic, but it also means we're kinda lost here without him, yeah? No, don't say anything, I know the answer and... _Shit_!”

The one thing he hated more than he hated Odin was when Doombots did their favorite stunt, appearing only inches away from him, because seriously, the last one to show up like this did so maybe a minute ago. They probably wouldn't be able to deal a serious amount of damage to his suit, but this one definitely managed to startle him.

A second after it had materialized, before Tony even had a chance to react, he heard a loud growl and the next thing he knew, the robot was being torn apart by a set of large, strong and apparently pretty sharp teeth.

“Fenrir,” Tony gasped. “Oh, good boy.”

The wolf gave Tony a smug look the inventor _definitely_ knew from Loki's face.

“You brought the wolf here, Thor?!” Odin shouted, currently surrounded by Doombots. “Are you _mad_?”

“Yeah, a loving grandpa, isn't he, Shredder? Yeah, your grandpa from my side wouldn't be much better. Wait, you've probably met him in Hel, Howard Stark? A bit of an asshole with an ugly mustache?”

“Do you realize that Fenrir is not _your_ son, Stark?” Natasha asked.

“Shush! He's my stepson, my husband's-”

“You and Loki are _not married_ as far as I know!” Steve growled.

“Not yet, but I've just decided that if I get out of this _alive_ and he bothers to ever show up again, I'm definitely gonna propose to him!”

“Lovely,” Clint muttered. “Tash, if we get out of this alive-”

“Sorry, love, that doesn't seem very likely. Tony, I don't want to bother you, but we're getting really outnumbered now, we need help, and you know I don't say that often.”

“But really, _if_ we get out of this alive, Natasha...” said Clint.

“Buy me a ring first, _then_ propose!”

“Yeah, I was gonna ask if we could adopt a dog.”

“Clint, if we survive, you can adopt a whole _pack_ if you want.”

“You think we're gonna die, don't you, Tash?”

Tony growled. This was supposed to be an easy mission. But the Doombots just kept coming, five for every one they managed to kill, an endless stream of them and _yes, we're fucking going to die here and I'm never gonna see Loki again and_...

And then the Doombots suddenly just stopped. Each and every one of them, in the middle of a movement, froze. They looked like a bunch of very ugly statues, completely motionless.

Tony was kind of afraid to blink.

The hall they were trying to defend was suddenly quiet, except for Thor's ragged breathing, Fenrir's silent growling and a soft hum of Iron Man's charged repulsors.

Tony wasn't surprised when he felt the familiar tingle, and this time, it definitely was Loki's magic, because a heartbeat later, the god himself appeared, in the middle of the hall, and threw to the floor a motionless, possibly lifeless body which almost definitely belonged to Doom himself.

“Princess,” Tony whispered, his faceplate sliding up just as Loki turned his head to him.

“Hello, Anthony,” the god smiled. He was in his Jotun form and blue was probably just becoming Tony's favorite color.

“Brother,” said Thor. “Where...”

“I have just spent...” Loki took a deep breath and only then Tony noticed that the god was shaking like a leaf. “I have just spent three days hunting for this bitch in Jotunheim. I don't feel cold in this form. I had to change. I didn't want to but... I had to keep going, I had to... Had to...”

Loki's eyes closed and his body tumbled down to the floor.

“Princess!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me, do you like cliffhangers as much as I do? No? Well, I thought so. So, uhm... I'm sorry for this? Really, I am, trust me, I'm not doing this to make you suffer or anything, I swear!  
> Also, I'm terribly, terribly sorry this chapter took so long, my life's been a bit crazy those past few days and even now, I really shouldn't have spent my evening writing this, but I just couldn't help it. I had to get this out of my head and I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer. I have no idea how long will the next chapter take, but I'll try to be as quick as I possibly can. :)  
> And as always, thank you very much for all your comments, even though they make me write when I really shouldn't! :)


	60. Chapter 60

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hours after his a bit dramatic arrival, Loki finally wakes up, still very exhausted. If you think he's going to leave the bed during this chapter, well, think again...

His consciousness was coming back to him very, very slowly. A part of his mind knew the feeling, he had experienced it several times during his life. It was like trying to pull himself out of very thick mud, perhaps even shifting sand. He was trying so hard, but he was being constantly drawn back down, deeper and deeper...

Until he felt a firm hand clasp his shoulder. He forced himself to focus, follow the feeling, let it lead him up.

He woke up suddenly, gasping for breath, his eyes open wide.

“Oh. Wow,” he heard. “Congrats. You get another award. After The Most Dramatic Entrance it's The Most Dramatic Waking Up. I'm so proud of you, honey...”

“Anthony,” Loki whispered, his eyes searching for, and quickly finding, his lover.

“Hello, Princess,” Tony smiled. “Nice to finally see you awake.”

“How...” Loki's voice was so hoarse he hardly recognized it himself. “How long?”

“About thirty-four hours. Idiot, that's what you are, you know? You have no idea how much you scared me.”

Loki licked his lips. They were incredibly dry, but so was his tongue, almost sticking to his palate. Tony sighed and took an ornate goblet from the bedside table. Loki thought he had never drank a cup of water that quickly.

“Doom,” he said quietly.

“Locked in a cell. Your old cell, Thor said. Definitely not getting out, as everything that can keep _you_ in can certainly hold our beloved Vic.”

Loki nodded, trying to cast a simple spell to refill his glass and failing miserably. It was only then that he realized his hand was still completely blue.

“Anthony...” Loki whispered.

“Yeah, I know, Princess. As I said, idiot,” Tony sighed and laid down next to Loki, hugging the god. “They say you've completely drained yourself. Exhausted yourself physically and exhausted your magic. Apparently, those two are linked, so when you're tired, your magic drains way faster, meaning-”

“I know how it works, Anthony.”

“Whatever. Let me guess, when you, before so gloriously fainting, said _you had to keep going_ and _three days_... I suppose that means you hadn't slept for three days, right? And probably hadn't eaten, either.”

“I...”

“Shut up. And you're telling _me_ I'm destroying myself? What was _this_ supposed to be?!”

“Just me, saving your sorry asses and Asgard.”

“No, Princess, that was just a coincidence. It was a hunt. A revenge. Right?”

“Not exactly,” Loki shook his head, wrapping his arms around Tony. “I knew the bitch was up to something. Something bad. I knew I had to stop him. And if I was to get my revenge while doing it... Well, that only made it better.”

“Revenge? You knocked him unconscious, that's all.”

“Knocked unconscious with magic. Managed to erase most of the spells he shouldn't know from his brain, as well as the knowledge about Yggdrasil and the realms.”

“So he wasn't pretending to be confused when he woke up. Nice job, Princess.”

“Also, he might suddenly get a feeling that he is a chicken from time to time. And start to behave like one. It should always wear off after a few hours, but it will definitely be lots of fun while it lasts.”

“Shame I'm probably not gonna see it.”

“You never know, love,” Loki grinned. “By the way, where... I mean, is Fenrir here?”

“Yeah, he is. Of course. I think Clint said he'll take him to the gardens and play with him. Well, if he finds a frisbee. Or at least a decent ball.”

“Good,” Loki smiled. “Very good. Do you think you might... find him? Later. I would like to see him.”

“Sure thing, Princess,” Tony nodded. “But you owe me an explanation, you know? Because no one's talking to me here, Thor said I should ask you, because he doesn't have the right to tell me, so... How come Odin didn't execute you? How come _you_ weren't taken into your nice little cell when you came back with Doom? Because if you haven't noticed, you're in your room. No, sorry, your _chambers_. Because you're such a princess you don't have a normal bedroom, no, you have a living room, a bathroom, a study... That one is gorgeous, by the way. And your closet? Oh, dear, and you would think _I_ am vain.”

“I see you have managed to explore while I was in a coma.”

“Loki. Your punishment. Explain.”

”I am terribly tired, love. I would like to go back to sleep. And you could perhaps... Help me?”

“Loki.”

The god sighed and slowly nodded.

 

Tony opened the door and Fenrir immediately darted through it, sprinted across the room and jumped onto Loki's bed.

“My puppy,” Loki laughed. “Hello, my sweet darling. How are you?”

Fenrir gave a bark and licked Loki's face.

“Uhm, Princess? Your son is the good news. The bad news is... It's not the only visitor you've got.”

“What?” Loki blinked. “Oh, no. Please, don't tell me-”

“Yup. All your other friends are here, too,” Tony nodded just as Clint pushed past him.

“Hi, Loki. Still blue, I see.”

“I can't shapeshift until some of my magic returns,” Loki sighed. “Hello, Natasha. Steve. Bruce. Oh, yes, Thor, of course.”

“Guys, you've got exactly ten minutes, okay?” said Tony. “Loki really needs all the rest he can get now.”

“He's a bit overprotective, isn't he?” asked Natasha. “How are you feeling?”

“Mostly good,” Loki smiled. “The lack of magic is annoying, but I am afraid I deserved it. I pushed myself too far.”

“And you admit it to _her_?” Tony smirked. “Disgusting.”

“Natasha is a _friend_ , love. How about all of you? Any injuries?”

“None,” said Steve. “Thanks to you. I was getting really afraid for a moment there.”

“Glad to help,” Loki nodded. “Although I could have prevented it altogether, if I-”

“Oh for fuck's sake, _Loki_!” Tony growled. “Seriously, why can't you just stop doing this? Take the compliment and don't mention what you could have done better. Maybe you could have stopped Doom sooner, maybe not. Doesn't change the fact that you stopped him in the end. That's big, Princess.”

“Tony's right,” said Natasha. “There's always something you could have done better, but the important thing is if what you did was good. And it was. So great job, Loki, and I don't want to hear any protests.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“That's a good boy,” Natasha grinned.

“ _My_ boy,” Tony commented.

“Oh, you can keep him, I don't want him. I already have an annoying boyfriend, right, Clint?”

The archer lifted his eyes from his wristband and shrugged.

“I can be more annoying than Loki and Stark combined, sweetheart.”

“You clearly don't know Anthony properly,” said Loki. “By the way, are you all going to just stand there and look at me? Because it makes me very uneasy. Could you perhaps... sit down? Or I can get out of bed and-”

“You are going no further than to the bathroom, Princess.”

“In that case,” Thor smiled, “we will need some chairs.”

“I'm pretty sure I said ten minutes,” Tony growled.

“You did, love,” said Loki, taking Tony's hand into his and intertwining their fingers.

“Oh, fine,” Tony rolled his eyes. Bring chairs, yeah, why not. I didn't have any other plans with my boyfriend after all...”

“I thought you said he needed rest,” Natasha smirked. “And then there's Fenrir.”

“Also, your boyfriend? Haven't you proposed yet?” asked Clint.

Loki raised an eyebrow.

“Excuse me... Proposed?”

“Please, ignore our village idiot,” Tony sighed as he made himself comfortable by Loki's side. “You guys wanted to bring the chairs, didn't you? Go, now. Chop chop!”

Clint rolled his eyes and started for the door, followed by the rest of the team. They were back less than a minute later, each with their own chair.

 

“Anthony?”

“M... hm?” Tony muttered and tried to swat the finger which was poking into his side.

“I am the one supposed to be sleeping, love, not _you_.”

“I am allowed to rest, too,” Tony yawned. “I spent most of the time you were out watching you and making sure you're still breathing.”

“Adorable,” said Loki. “Wake up. I want to talk.”

“The team-”

“Gone. And Clint took Fenrir with him again. That man really needs a dog.”

“Yeah, he's probably gonna get one soon.”

“What was that comment about proposing supposed to mean, Anthony?”

“Hm... What?” Tony blinked. “Oh, yes, right. Clint's comment. I'm gonna kill the guy.”

“So it was true? You want to propose to me?”

“No. Well, yes. I don't know. Sort of? Look, it was something I decided, as you'd probably say, in the heat of battle, and unfortunately I told the rest of the team and... Just for the record, if I _did_ propose, what would your answer be?”

“I...” Loki gently touched Tony's face and sighed. “Oh, my sweet Anthony. Always so eager. My beloved mortal...”

“Are we back to that shit again?” Tony frowned. “Trust me, I don't like it, either. Think about my vanity. How do you think I'm gonna feel when I grow old and my hair turns gray and you're still gonna look this perfect? Well, not blue, probably, but you know what I mean. Young and dark-haired and gorgeous. And I'm gonna be an old ugly grandpa.”

“You are never going to be ugly, love,” Loki shook his head. “Not to me.”

“Don't think I'm looking forward to leaving you so soon. Soon for you, at least. For me it's gonna be the rest of my life, but for you... But there's nothing we can do about it, is there?”

“No. There's not,” said Loki.

He didn't think Tony would notice him hesitating for a second.

Tony did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, did it really take me this long to write this chapter? I'm so, so sorry, darlings, those last few days were hell for me. Too much work and too little time. But it might get a bit better now (at least my school's almost over for this year), so I might get more time for writing, because I really want to finally finish the story. Only a few more chapters left!  
> And thank you everyone for your lovely comments! :)


	61. Chapter 61

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If there's one thing Tony Stark is good at, it's solving problems. So what he does when his mortality becomes one? Oh, yes, he probably should have let Loki to sort this out, but... He's Tony Stark and he does what he wants.

Tony was walking through the long corridors of the palace, completely lost in thoughts.

He knew his Space Princess. Loki had no idea, but Tony could tell when the god was lying simply by looking into his eyes. Their look always changed – they became colder, just a tiny bit, but enough for Tony to notice. He was never going to tell Loki about this, of course.

_It's sort of useful to know when your boyfriend's not telling you the truth._

_Boyfriend..._ No, that sounded wrong. _Partner? Possible fiance?_

_Love of your fucking life, Stark._

Which was exactly why Tony was trying to find Thor. Although at this point, it was getting more and more about finding himself. Not in a philosophical sense, no.

Tony Stark just got a bit lost in the palace.

_Well, shit_ .

He sighed.

How did it work here, anyway, if you wanted to see the prince? Did you have to ask for an audience first and then wait until he grants it to you? He probably couldn't just burst into Thor's room, no, his  _fucking chambers_ , like he would back home.

And not only because he had no idea where said chambers were.

He sighed again. He was getting too old for this shit.

_Yeah,which is basically why you're here and not back in Loki's bedroom, watching your god sleep_ .

He turned left at the end of one corridor and spotted a dark-haired woman walking towards him. Wait, wasn't it one of Thor's warrior friends? What was her name again? Frankly, Tony hadn't been exactly paying attention when Thor had introduced them, being too busy worrying about his unconscious sweetheart.

He dealt with the situation just as he always did with similar ones. He put on his most charming smile and walked straight to her.

“Hi,” he said. “Tony Stark. Remember me? I'm sort of looking for Thor and I'm sort of, well, lost. Help, please?”

“I see,” she nodded. Was she really smirking at him? “Loki's so-called genius. Follow me.”

Tony swallowed a comment about not being only a so-called genius because at the moment, he felt more like an idiot than anything else.

But hey, at least he was getting somewhere...

 

Thor stood in front of an ornate door and turned around, taking a deep breath.

“My friend,” he said. “I beg you to reconsider.”

“You've already begged me six times, Thunder Boy, do you really think I'm gonna change my mind?”

“I hope so,” said Thor. “Tony, please, we both know that you are not a diplomat, we will find another way, I will personally-”

“Thor? Shut up. I wanna do this, okay?”

“But you have no idea-”

“Exactly. And that's my advantage.”

Thor shook his head.

“As you wish,” he said, turning back to face the guards. “Tony Stark would like to speak with the Allfather.”

 

Tony was only half-surprised when he was let in without as much as a question from the guards. Odin must have been expecting him to come sooner or later.

He was very surprised when he realized he was not in some official sitting-room, but rather in a private study. A small desk by his left held two cups of tea and a bowl of fruits. At least Tony hoped they were fruits. He wasn't able to recognize most of them.

“Anthony Edward Stark.”

Tony could proudly say he managed not to shriek, no matter how much he wanted to. He just turned his head to the right, looking only mildly surprised.

“Odin, Allfather, king of Asgard and many, many other titles. Hi. I came to talk.”

“I know,” Odin nodded. “Please, sit down.”

“Talk about your son.”

“The younger one, I assume,” Odin smiled.

“Yeah,” Tony smirked, sitting on the chair opposite to Odin. “Loki.”

“You came to ask me why I lied to him about his sentence. Why I sent him to Midgard believing he would be executed if he broke his rules. Why I tried so hard to keep you and him together.”

“Nah. I already know that. He's told me. But wait, we can talk about it for a moment, right. Just long enough for me to tell you I think you're a terrible father if you thought you were doing him any good. Like... Is it so fucking hard to just talk to him, eh? Explain to him? I know he's a stubborn bitch, but you know, if there's one thing I've learned about him, it's that when you're not lying, he's much easier to get along with. If you're not Thor. If you're Thor, it's actually better if you're lying, because... Don't you think it's weird Loki's almost _proud_ of Thor for managing to lie to him for so long?”

“Not at all,” Odin shook his head. “That is the way Loki is. He might be... displeased that he was tricked, but he can surely appreciate the trick itself.”

“In that case, I should start looking forward to April Fool's,” Tony grinned. “But could we please focus on you being a terrible parent?”

“Oh course. Yes. Honestly, Anthony Stark-”

“Tony. Only Loki gets to call me Anthony.”

“As you wish. Tony Stark, do you think Loki would have listened to me? Remember what he was like when Thor brought him. He was angry, arrogant, cruel-”

“No. He wasn't,” said Tony. “Well, yeah, he was angry, but he still is, only... a bit less and he's got me to calm him down. He's just as arrogant as he's always been. And he was never, _ever_ , cruel.”

“But-”

“No buts. Listen to me. You did this because you wanted your son to change? Well, he hasn't changed. He's the same Loki you exiled. He's a bitch. He's hot-headed. He's sarcastic. He's stubborn. He'd still throw me out of the window if I pissed him off. And he's clever, as he's always been, and funny and amazing and willing to die for people he loves. The only thing that's changed in the past few months is that he loves _himself_ and he knows _other_ people can love him, too.”

“Precisely,” Odin smiled.

“So that is what all the bullshit was about? Disown your son so he learns to love himself?”

“I was merely doing what my wife asked me to do.”

“Yeah. Your wife,” Tony smirked. “Be honest with me now, _Your Majesty_. Was it just because of her, or did _you_ want Loki back, too?”

Odin sighed and closed his one eye.

“I have made many mistakes with Loki. And before you ask, no, taking him in was not one of them. He might not believe it, but I love my son. I love both my sons the same. Perhaps I don't know how to show it. When I sent him to Midgard, I hoped I would be able to set things right.”

“That wasn't you. That was us.”

Odin's one eye was open again, and Tony had a feeling it was digging right into his mind.

“Do you realize, Tony Stark, that it is only because I exiled him that he is yours now? Do you think he would have fallen in love with you otherwise? A mere mortal?”

“Oh, yes,” Tony grinned, taking a sip of his tea, hoping it wasn't poisoned. “Thanks for reminding me.”

“It is most tragical, of course,” Odin sighed. “That he will have to lose you so soon.”

“Yeah. But he knew what he was getting himself into, you know. And it's not like we could do anything about it. It's fine, really. He'll be fine when I'm dead. Oh, but you know what? This mere mortal is terribly hungry.”

“Please, be my guest,” said Odin, gesturing towards the bowl of fruits.

“No, thanks. If it's not much of a problem, I'd prefer an apple, please.”

An amused smile appeared on Odin's face.

“Was it Thor or Loki who told you?”

“Thor. And not very willingly. It was only when I threatened to stop buying him food when we're back on Earth that he yielded.”

“Of course. So, an apple. Do you even know what you are asking for, Stark? Do you realize the consequences?”

“I'm gonna live as long as your kind does. I'm probably gonna be stronger, heavier. Almost unbreakable just like those two. My stamina will probably be improved, too.”

“You are going to watch all your friends die.”

“And who can guarantee me that won't happen even if I'm a mortal? One day, if some miracle happened, I could be the last Avenger standing. Except for Thor and Loki, of course. Thor will have to watch his friends die, too. And Loki. If I do this, at least Loki won't have to watch his _lover_ wither away before his eyes.”

“And that is the reason why I should grant you a golden apple? To make Loki happy?”

Tony shrugged.

“Do you need a better one?”

 

He should have seen it coming. He should have known.

He shouldn't have been surprised when a second after leaving Odin's study, he was grabbed by the front of his T-shirt and shoved against the nearest wall by a very angry (and once again very pale and green-eyed) god. Needless to say, he definitely  _was_ surprised.

“What have you done, you stupid mortal?!” Loki hissed.

Tony blinked.

“What are you doing out of your bed?”

“Thor came to tell me about your _idiotic_ plan,” Loki growled. “What did you think you were doing? I could have convinced Odin to give you an apple, I could have sorted it out, _somehow_! But if _you_ just walk in with your annoying babbling, do you really think he'll go all _oh, yes, Anthony Stark, I will definitely give you-_ ”

“I told him only you get to call me Anthony, Princess,” Tony smiled.

“You did _what_?!” Loki yelled. “Oh, no. No, no, no. I need to speak with him, I need to know how much damage have you caused, you _foolish mortal_!”

“I'm not.”

“What, foolish? Yes, you are! Because if you ever thought-”

“No, I mean...” Tony grinned. “I'm not a mortal. Well, technically, I still am, it will take a few days for the change to be complete, but that's just a detail.”

Loki's eyes went almost impossibly wide and his whole face suddenly got even paler than normal. Tony could read the shock in his eyes, see it in the way his mouth was ever so slightly open, hear it in Loki's rapid breathing.

“What did you say?” the god whispered.

“Well, Princess,” Tony shrugged, at least as much as Loki's hands would let him. “It seems my babbling is pretty effective. Because, well, yes. I just walked in and was granted an apple. Easy peasy.”

He almost laughed at the tiny squeak of Loki's, just before the god crashed their mouths together, frantically searching for the taste of the apple on his lover's lips.

Only when he had found it, he allowed himself to believe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so... That's probably what you've all been waiting for, a happy ending for our two idiots. :D And hey, you didn't even have to wait for it too long. I said I needed to get this out of my head, didn't I? :D The bad news is, the next chapter is probably going to be the very last one, if it won't get out of my hands. But I don't think it will, so... Please, mentally prepare yourself that the end is very, very near...  
> As always, thank you very much for all your wonderful comments! :)


	62. Chapter 62

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still in Asgard, Clint makes a decision which shocks the whole team. But hey, of course that Loki has his own idea about happy endings...

“Oh, Loki.”

Tony wanted to keep his eyes open, but he simply couldn't.

“Princess... Stop it. If you don't want this to end before it even starts properly-”

“Mhmmm...”

“Okay. Got it, that's exactly what you want.”

_And was that a chuckle?_

“Oh my god, Princess. You're gonna kill me with that mouth of yours.”

“Perhaps, my dear Anthony.” _Yeah, definitely a chuckle_. “But it will require some extra effort now that you have eaten the apple...”

Tony grabbed Loki's already ruffled hair and growled.

“Stop looking so smug, you little shit,” he muttered, “and put the mouth back where it was.”

“As you wish, my love,” Loki grinned and licked his lips. “But you must promise that you will scream my name when you come.”

“No problem,” Tony murmured. “Totally no problem. Especially if you keep going... Holy fuck, _Loki_!”

 

“Look who's found their way to breakfast!” said Steve a second after Loki and Tony appeared (literally, thanks to Tony's laziness and Loki's teleportation skills) in the dining room. “Although judging by your face, Tony, I guess Loki's already had his...”

“Was that a sex joke? Bad, bad Captain,” Tony laughed and sat down. “Princess, I'm _starving._ ”

“Yeah, yeah, I'm on my way,” Loki rolled his eyes. “You are so incredibly lazy today.”

“Hey, transformation into a god in progress,” Tony shrugged. Fenrir got up from his spot under the table and placed his head in Tony's lap. “I'm sleepy and hungry like a wolf. Nothing personal, Shredder. Morning, by the way. Oh, I could eat a horse...”

“Not the eight-legged one, thank you,” Loki winked and rubbed Fenrir behind the ear. “I will be back with your food in a minute.”

“Thanks, Princess. You're the best.”

When Loki left, Tony focused on his team. It was only then that he realized that they were suspiciously quiet that morning, and suspiciously serious.

“So, Tony,” said Natasha and Tony definitely wasn't fooled by her sudden smile. “Still not regretting eating that apple?”

Tony frowned.

“What's going on here?”

“What are you talking about?” Natasha blinked. “Everything's fine.”

“It's not,” Tony shook his head. “Cap's making sex jokes, Bruce won't look me in the eye, Thor's left his almost entire breakfast untouched and you, Tasha, are all sweet and happy, even though you looked like you were about to cry a minute ago. And Clint, you just gulped. So _tell me_.”

“Don't worry about it,” Clint sighed. “We'll tell you when we get back home. You've got only a day or two left in Asgard, so just... be happy with Loki? Please.”

Tony stared at Natasha.

“You're not pregnant, are you? You _can't be_.”

“If I was, I would probably be less shocked,” she muttered.

“Tasha,” Clint sighed.

“Are you _breaking up_?” Tony gasped. “Look, guys, whatever happened, you can sort it out somehow. Clint, if you're an idiot and let some pretty maiden seduce you, I'm sure Nat will forgive you, she might cut your balls off, but-”

“You won't shut up until someone tells you, right?” Clint asked.

“No, and I'm offended that you ever thought I _would_. If my team's falling apart, I _want to know_.”

“Right,” the archer nodded. “Fine. But promise me you won't tell Loki. He's probably happier than he ever was, so don't you dare spoil it.”

“I won't keep any secrets from Loki. But if you don't tell me _right now_ , I'm gonna fetch him and I'm sure he'll find a way to get that piece of information from you...”

“Tony, please. He's going to blame himself again. I really don't want that. Not _now_.”

“Oh,” Tony frowned. “So it's about your...”

“I have decided to leave the team,” Clint sighed. “I am still going to live with you, and I can go on solo missions, but my deafness is dangerous for the rest of you. Look what nearly happened this time, just because I wasn't able to hear Tasha's warning. She nearly died and Loki sacrificed himself just to save her. What if the next time, he won't be able to save someone who gets hurt just because of me? What if it's _him_ who gets badly injured?”

“What if someone gets hurt just because you're _not there_?” Natasha asked. “How many times have you saved my life, Barton?”

“You're gonna have Loki now. We all know nothing will stop him from becoming an Avenger. He's getting used to being a hero.”

“But Loki is not _Hawkeye_ ,” Steve sighed. “I know, he's turned out to be a great guy, but his skill set is completely different.”

“Yup. He's much better,” Clint nodded. “And don't try to tell me he's not. I know what Loki's capable of. Just... Guys, I'm not going anywhere, okay? I'm just not gonna be an Avenger.”

Tony turned his gaze to his fellow scientist.

“Brucie, tell him something,” he said.

“I already have,” Bruce shrugged. “He ignored me.”

“Because he's an idiot,” Natasha hissed. “He ignores _everyone_ , including his _partner_.”

“Thor?” said Tony.

“My friend-”

“Tony, just _stop it_ ,” Clint growled. “You won't make me change my mind. I don't want you to even try. Just don't tell Loki.”

“Don't tell Loki what?” Loki's voice asked.

“He wants to quit avenging,” Tony said without even blinking. “Because he's deaf and he thinks that makes him dangerous for the rest of the team, so he just doesn't want to be a part of the team anymore. And he didn't want me to tell you because he thinks you're gonna blame yourself.”

Loki places a giant plate full of food in front of Tony and slowly nodded.

“I see,” he said. “Thank you for telling me, love.”

“You're welcome, sweetie,” Tony said.

“It would be much harder to get him back here later, you know?” Loki smirked. “Get up, Barton.”

“What?” the archer blinked.

-Get up,- Loki signed.

“Look, Lokes,” Clint gulped. “I didn't mean it in a bad way, I just wanted to-”

But Loki had already grabbed the archer's wrist and they both disappeared.

“Oh, great,” Natasha sighed. “I hope he won't throw him off the Bifrost.”

“Sorry, honey, but it's entirely possible that he will,” Tony smirked.

“Stark, if you ever call me _honey_ again, I'll personally test just how indestructible that new body of yours is.”

“Wait,” said Steve. “You don't think Loki would actually _hurt_ Barton, do you?”

“I...” Thor murmured. “I am not sure, but I think that I know what he wants to do...”

“Do you?” asked Tony.

“I... Yes. I considered doing it myself. But I wanted to ask father for his permission first. I am afraid that Loki, as always, will not bother with that.”

“Permission?” Tony blinked. “Permission to do _what_?”

 

Several hours later, Loki hesitantly entered Odin's study.

“Did you call?” he asked quietly.

“Sit down. Please,” said Odin.

“Before you ask, yes,” Loki sighed and sat himself on the chair he knew was intended for visitors. “I know what this is about.”

“Good. That will save us some time,” Odin nodded. “Would you like to explain yourself, Loki?”

“Oh, let me think,” Loki pouted. “I just wanted to help a very good friend who believed in me and supported me from the beginning of my exile, when no one but him and Thor trusted me and the man I love _hated_ me and was almost constantly making fun of me. Also, Clint's deafness was partly my fault, if I had been faster when it happened, if I had been able to get to him and heal him-”

“You know that neither you nor Thor are allowed to bring mortals to our healers, Loki.”

“Aren't you listening?” Loki frowned. “This is something I _owed_ him! It was the right thing. Isn't that what you want me to do? The right things?”

“It is,” Odin nodded, sitting down on a chair opposite to Loki.

“Then what exactly is the problem, father?”

“The problem is that the moment you are forgiven your crimes, the moment you get a golden apple for your lover, the moment you are recognized as a prince once again, you just go and break the first rule that you find. Who do you think you are?”

“I'm Loki, of course.”

“Yes. Of course,” Odin sighed. “Did they managed to heal him?”

“Not completely. The injury is too old,” Loki shook his head. “But they were able to restore at least a part of his hearing. That means Anthony can, perhaps with my help, create a hearing aid for him. And even without it, it's much better than being completely deaf.”

“I suppose that it is.”

Loki bit his lower lip and took a deep breath.

“Father...”

“I hoped I would hear you call me father at least once more before I die,” Odin smiled and took Loki's hand in his. “And twice? Tony Stark has much better influence on you than I thought.”

“His influence made me break your rules and bring Hawkeye to our healers,” said Loki.

“Oh, no. I believe that was you. Just as when you dragged your unconsciouss brother into the palace after that one hunt centuries ago and then refused to leave his side until three healers swore to you that he is not going to die.”

“Yes. That one was also my fault. You had forbidden us to go, but we didn't listen, Thor was so eager and I didn't stop him...”

“You must stop blaming yourself for everything, Loki. You know that your mother hated it,” Odin sighed. “And the next time you want to help one of your friends, please, at least ask.”

“All right, father,” Loki nodded. “I promise I will try.”

“Good,” said Odin. “You can go now. Your friends are waiting for you. And I believe Fenrir is making guards very nervous just behind this door...”

 

Tony jumped to his feet the moment Loki, followed by Fenrir, entered his sitting room. The rest of the team just tensed and fell silent.

“Princess,” Tony said. “How did it go? Is he pissed off? Should we start packing? Do we have time to pack? Do we need to run to the Bifrost and let ourselved be beamed down to Earth right now?”

“Stark, shut up, I definitely didn't miss your rambling when I was deaf,” Clint smirked. “Lokes?”

“You can all relax,” Loki smiled. “I was forgiven. Not that there was much to forgive.”

“Oh, good. I'm way too tired to run,” Tony sighed. “I thought that apple was supposed to make me feel _better_.”

“You will feel better once the transformation is complete. Right now, your body is just trying to save as much energy as it can,” said Loki and walked over to Tony. “Sit down and rest.”

“Was Odin really okay with it?” asked Clint and absent-mindedly rubbed Fenrir's head when the wolf sat down next to him. “I mean... I'm definitely not ready to give up my hearing again, but if you're in trouble...”

“If I was, I would say it, Clint.”

“Good, because I would not allow you to make him deaf again,” said Natasha.

“Trust me, none of our healers would willingly do that,” said Thor. “Besides, father wants to give every one of you a reward for coming to help Asgard. So this is probably going to be Hawkeye's.”

“I hope I get some nice new daggers,” Natasha smirked.

“I will personally see to that,” Loki nodded.

“And where's my reward, eh?” asked Tony. “Something cool and alien?”

“You are going to spend your very long life by my side,” said Loki and bent down so he could kiss Tony's forehead. “Isn't that enough?”

“I said reward, Princess, not punishment.”

“What a cute couple you are,” Steve rolled his eyes. “Look, I don't want to seem impatient, but shouldn't we... leave anyway? I don't like leaving the Earth unprotected.”

“I am sure Heimdall would inform me if there was something amiss, my friend,” said Thor.

“I believe he would. But I think Steve is right,” said Bruce. “I don't think we should leave _now_ , but perhaps tomorrow, or the day after?”

“Well, I don't mind,” Clint shrugged. “Tony's promised me to start working on my hearing aids as soon as we get back home, so the sooner the better for me. I can _hear_ a little, but understanding properly is still kind of a problem, I still have to check my subtitles, well... almost all the time.”

“What do you say, Princess?” asked Tony and looked at his lover. “We've got work to do, Doctor Who to watch, rings to buy...”

“Rings? You haven't even proposed properly yet.”

“Well, one engagement ring and then two wedding rings when you say yes,” Tony grinned.

“Who says I am going to say yes?” Loki frowned.

“Oh come _on_!” Clint whined. “Of course you will say yes. You're so in love with him it almost hurts to look at!”

“Besides, if you say no and break Tony's heart, I'm gonna make you regret the fact that you are almost unbreakable, but still able to feel pain, do we understand each other?” Natasha asked.

“I wouldn't let you touch my Princess, even if he broke my heart,” Tony smirked and wrapped his arm wround Loki's waist. “So what do you say, Loki?”

“Is this the proposal? Because you don't seem to be kneeling, Anthony.”

“No. You didn't answer my question if you're ready to leave your home again and come back to New York with me.”

“Definitely not, my love,” Loki smiled. “But I am perfectly ready to leave Asgard and come back home with you.”

“Oh?” Tony grinned. “So my wonderful and exotic Space Princess has become some boring _Earth_ Princess?”

“Boring? Anthony, I believe you will find out that I am never, _ever_ boring.”

Loki bent down again and suddenly, his green eyes were way too close and looked way too affectionate...

“Oh, god,” Tony murmured as he raised his hand and buried his fingers in Loki's long black hair. “I love you so much, Princess.”

“And I love you, my dear Anthony,” Loki whispered. “And by the way, when you ask, I will definitely say yes. I might ask for some time to think about it first-”

“Of course,” Tony laughed. “Fucking drama queen...”

Loki's lips were smiling softly as they pressed themselves against Tony's, and the inventor simply couldn't stop his own mouth from grinning into the kiss.

If someone had come to him a year ago and told him he'd soon end up madly in love and in a very serious relationship, Tony would have laughed. If they had added it would be with Loki, the crazy trickster, Tony probably would have paid for the poor soul's therapy. And if they had gone as far as to say that he would willingly make his life thousands of years longer only to spend it with the god...

But now, as Loki's fingers somehow intertwined with his, Tony was just happy.

And so was Loki.

 

“Oh, and by the way,” Clint suddenly said. “Nat, you remember you promised me a dog? _Ouch_!”

“Barton, you're such an idiot,” she sighed and rolled her eyes. “Romantic moment, hello?”

“They will have thousands of years of romantic moments, but I was promised a dog. Hey, Loki? I'm sure you have some dogs here. Can't I have one? You know, as my reward. Well, another one. I definitely deserve two rewards for being extra nice to you. And it would be so cool to have an alien dog to... Tasha, would you please stop kicking me?”

“Yeah, you can stop,” Steve smiled. “Those two are not listening to him anyway.”

They all turned their heads to Tony and Loki just as Loki's lips started their was towards Tony's neck.

“Does anyone else think we should leave?” Bruce asked.

Tony moaned and his grip on Loki's hair tightened.

“Aye,” Thor nodded. “We certainly should.”

Hardly a minute later, the door closed behind the last member of the team.

Tony and Loki didn't even notice them leaving.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, darlings, this is it. This chapter is really the last one. God, it was so crazy to write this story. When I started, I thought it would be a short fanfic, only a few chapters, and look what happened. I have literally no idea how it managed to get this long, but you know what? I'm just happy with the story. :) Just so you know, it would never get this long without all your wonderful comments. They really, really kept me going. So thank you very, very much and the next time I start writing something, you know what to do. ;)  
> Oh, and by the way, there might be some one-shots connected to this in the future. And maaaaybe a sequel. But there are other things I need to write first, so I guess you'll have to be patient. :) (Well, perhaps I could write a short proposal fic very, very soon. I mean, if you want...)


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